Chesapeake 1000

Chesapeake 1000 (formerly Sun 800) is a heavy lift sheerleg crane ship, owned by Donjon Marine Co., capable of lifting 1,000 short tons (890 long tons; 910 t). It is one of the largest boomable stiff-leg-derrick barges on the eastern seaboard of the United States.

The barge measures 191 feet (58 m) long, with a beam of 101 feet (31 m); its draft is 20 feet (6.1 m).

Since late March 2024, it has been involved in salvage efforts at Baltimore, following the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.

History

The crane barge was built by Kelso Marine in Galveston, Texas for Sun Shipbuilding in 1972 at a cost of nearly $5 million. At the time, it was the largest crane ship in the world. The crane was initially able to lift 800 short tons (710 long tons; 730 t), and so was named Sun 800.

In 1982, Sun's parent, the Sun Oil Company, sold Sun Shipbuilding to Ed Paden, who renamed the business to Pennsylvania Shipbuilding (Penn Ship); yard assets were renamed similarly, and the crane was renamed Penn 800. While en-route to Puerto Rico in the mid-1980s, the derrick barge was caught in a hurricane and the original boom was lost; it was replaced with a boom measuring 256 ft (78 m) long (heel to jib) and the main fall block was upgraded to a 35-ton unit, which increased the lifting capacity to 1,000 short tons (910 t) and the vessel was renamed Penn 1000. Tim Colton, who was the Vice President of Marketing for Penn Ship, stated the engineers originally had designed the crane to be upgraded to 1000 tons; however, after the upgrade, it sat idle most of the time, so the crane was moved to the busier Port of Norfolk, Virginia and renamed Chesapeake 1000.