AFI machines help catch the tide

With a tight contract timeframe, UK rental company AFI-Uplift was able to supply booms so a luxury cruise liner could dock in the morning, be re-liveried with its new name and be ready to set sail on the evening tide.

AFI supplied three Haulotte booms to marine and industrial ultra high pressure water blasting and coating specialists Specialist Blasting Services (SBS) for a contract to change the name of the 'Saga Pearl II' to 'Quest For Adventure'.

SBS needed boom lifts that could be manoeuvred easily around the Southampton dockside and also meet the weight loadings required for them to be transported on a floating barge where they could be used to change the ship's name.

Keith Nicoll, SBS commercial Manager, said, "Once we knew the size of the dock area we were required to work in and the reach needed to access the ship we were able to select the appropriate powered access units from the AFI website. The website was very clear and user friendly and we were able to click through the machine specification section and quickly select the most suitable machines for the job."

"We had about seven hours to complete our work, which involved removing and painting over the old name, applying stencils and painting the new name onto the ship, so it was imperative that the boom lifts we used were able to quickly and easily manoeuvre our men into position," he said.

The machines supplied by AFI's Southampton depot were Haulotte H21TX and H25TPX diesel telescopic booms with working heights of 20.8m and 25m.