Unic lifts whale skull

A mini Unic spider crane was used to lift a whale skull exhibit into place at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, UK.

To complete the job a 600 mm wide 0.995 tonne capacity Unic URW-095 mini crane from specialist GGR Group was used. The crane was hired by Constantine Limited, specialist in exhibit logistics and installation.

For the lift, the bottom jaw of the 4.7 metre long skull was fixed into position onto a 4 m high stand, followed by the 600 kg main skull section, which was placed on top. The skull belonged to a 40 foot (12 m) long sperm whale nicknamed Moby which became stranded in the River Forth in 1997. Despite rescue efforts to push him back out to sea, the whale didn’t survive.

The skull is now on permanent display in the museum’s Grand Gallery and is part of National Museum Scotland’s whale collection, which is one of the largest in the world.

The URW-095 spider crane runs on LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) and there is a battery powered option, meaning no toxic fumes are released so the crane can safely work in environmentally-sensitive and protected locations and indoors.