Meta Engineering oversees syncrolift project at Port of Barcelona

1st February 2021

Meta Engineering was the company responsible for overseeing the infrastructure construction works for the syncrolift at the Port of Barcelona.

The project was carried out through two Temporary Joint Ventures (UTE in Spanish), the first in conjunction with Intecsa-Inarsa and Prointec, and the second in collaboration with Typsa.

The project lasted 31 months, during which time work was carried out to replenish material and install the necessary infrastructure for load testing and ship operation.

The syncrolift system is a vessel dry-docking system, which allows ships to be lifted out of the water for maintenance or repair work.

 

The operation is carried out on a submerged cradle, and the vessel is then lifted by a series of synchronised electromechanical hoists that raise the platform to the level of the shipyard floor.

After dry docking, the vessel is placed on bogies along its side, enabling it to be towed on rails to the slipways via a transfer carriage.

The separation of the lifting and repair area means that the syncrolift can be left unoccupied, allowing several vessels to be worked on simultaneously.

Syncrolift’s large capacity has led to this system gradually replacing dry-docking systems, which only allow the handling of one vessel at a time.