Tests of the extended and reinforced cradle at the Ronald Reagan Marine Railway at Satala were completed Friday and according to CEO Carlos Sanchez, the work done by his all Samoan crew passed. “Everything worked,” said Sanchez.
The cradle was extended from 300 ft to 336 ft. This is the same cradle that derailed in 2019, was repaired when Sanchez became CEO, but derailed again in 2021. Sanchez said, yesterday, they’ve reinforced and extended the cradle and now it’s able to hold two large size vessels at one time.
Currently, the Lady Samoa III—which sails between Upolu and Savaii islands—is on the slipway.
Sanchez said, the 300 ft cradle was insufficient because there was no room to work around vessels of that size or longer. So the solution was to extend the cradle and reinforce it.
He said, they can put another vessel at the back with the Lady Samoa III, which is one of the widest boats to go on the slipway.
The Samoa Government is sending its tug boat here for repairs after the Lady Samoa job is completed.
Sanchez proudly told KHJ News that all of the workers who did the cradle job are Samoans, except him. His crew of 35 includes 18-24 year olds, who are paired up with older, experienced, workers, who teach them various skills.
Sanchez said that their employees are cross trained to handle all tasks at the shipyard. That way, they will not be without work.
