PORT TOWNSEND — A 40,000-pound industrial crane used to lift heavy ship parts toppled Tuesday morning at the Port of Port Townsend shipyard, causing a crane operator minor injuries, firefighters said.
The unidentified crane operator was in the cab of the crane at about 10 a.m., attempting to remove a engine of about 30,000 pounds from a steel tugboat that was being cut up for scrap, Port of Port Townsend Executive Director Larry Crockett said.
He crawled out of the cab, and suffered a broken thumb an a leg injury, East Jefferson Fire-Rescue Department spokeswoman Keppie Kelpinger said that firefighters were told.
Officials with the state Department of Labor and Industries arrived from Olympia to begin an investigation by Tuesday afternoon.
Kelpinger said firefighters did not know the man’s name.
John “Mike” Hogan, owner of Oceanview Marine Services and the crane, declined to identify the worker — or give other details about the incident — because an investigation is under way,.
A representative of Labor and Industry also declined to identify the man, saying that the agency will issue a statement after its investigation is finished later this week.
Hogan said that the worker was taken to Jefferson Healthcare hospital in Port Townsend by a co-worker.
He was taken to the hospital before firefighters arrived at the shipyard, Keplinger said, but fire fighters were told that his injuries were minor.
Keplinger said the investigation into the accident was ongoing.
Hogan, who helped fire and rescue workers with the containment of oil leaking from the wreckage, using absorbent cloth, said he wasn’t there when the crane toppled.
In 2006, the Port of Port Townsend evicted Hogan’s business — a full service marine shipyard operation that employed 11 people — from the shipyard, saying he had failed to properly contain sand-blasting material and working beyond the city of Port Townsend’s 10 p.m. noise curfew.
The port commissioners later forgave him, directing staff members to work out an agreement with Hogan after several marine trades operators came forward in Hogan’s defense.
The port commissioners stipulated that Hogan must post a $10,000 bond with the port, abide by state and federal environmental regulations and the city noise ordinance.
Any violation of the agreement would mean that Hogan would forfeit the bond and his business would be permanently evicted from the shipyard.
