On July 14, 1999, a massive crane named Big Blue collapsed while lifting a section of the retractable roof for the new Miller Park baseball stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The accident killed three iron workers and injured five others. The crane, which was lifting a section of the stadium roof weighing over 450 tons, collapsed due to several environmental factors, including wind speeds of 20-21 mph with gusts up to 26-27 mph, and the crane sinking about a foot into the soil when it initially lifted the roof section earlier that day. The incident led to significant financial consequences, including over $500,000 in fines and a lawsuit settlement of over $99 million, and delayed the completion of Miller Park by a year. The collapse also highlighted critical issues in crane safety and management, leading to important lessons for the construction industry.
A heavylift crane collapsed in Rostock, Germany, during load tests at the Liebherr construction yard. The incident occurred on May 2, 2020, when the crane broke off while testing a load of 5,500 tons, causing the upper half of the crane to tip over and smash onto the offshore installation vessel Orion 1.
The ship, being built by Cosco (Qidong) Offshore, was scheduled to be delivered later that month to DEME Offshore for work on the Moray East offshore wind farm in Scotland.
Four people were injured in the accident, and the crane suffered significant damage, with investigations into the damage to the crane and the vessel ongoing.
This was the second accident involving Liebherr cranes in the Rostock port within a short period.
