Photo By Troy Miller | Norfolk Naval Shipyard Lifting and Handling Department (Code 700) Rigger Shop (Shop...... read more read more
A common trope in cartoons is the “piano drop.” A character would be pulling a rope to lift a heavy piano, using a pulley system, to a window on a high-rise building. The rope could break; another character may cut the rope; the character would lose their grip on the rope; regardless, invariably the piano would take a plunge, almost always on someone or something, often with a resounding "BONG" as it smashes on the ground, sometimes accompanied by the screen shaking. In the suspension of disbelief, this would make for a good laugh. However, for Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) Crane and Rigging Operations (Code 740) Shop 72 – Riggers, they take their job of lifting and handling very seriously.
“There are many components that cannot be moved without Code 740,” said Crane and Rigging Operations (Code 740) Deputy Superintendent Sean Rountree. “I would say 90 percent of repairs must have crane and rigging support. This makes us vital to ensure NNSY meets its mission of repairing, modernizing and inactivating the Navy’s warships and training platforms.”
Shop 72 performs various crane and in-hull ship or building rigging operations. The shipyard’s lifting and handling operations range from the removal of components in engine rooms onboard submarines and aircraft carriers to the replacement of ship antennas. The weight of a load can range anywhere between 50 – 150,000 pounds.
Due to the nature of the job, to ensure all lifting and handling evolutions are conducted safely and expertly, Shop 72 puts much time into planning and engineering in order to have a successful lift, especially when it comes to highly complicated evolutions such as lowering equipment through a submarine scuttle.
In addition to supporting NNSY with lifting and handling evolutions, Shop 72 also supports Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia; Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia; Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine; Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, Washington; and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as well as other activities abroad.
Recent wins for Shop 72 include the successful installation of the shaft for the Virginia-class attack submarine USS John Warner (SSN 785) and the capstan testing on the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Toledo (SSN 769).
| Date Taken: | 05.01.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.14.2025 08:04 |
| Story ID: | 497382 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 19 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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