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This Friday, the project of the the rebirth of the Titan in the Cruise Terminal of the port of Leixões. The industrial machine is a historic landmark in the collective memory of the region, and was, until 2012, an iconic figure on the horizon of Matosinhos beach. Just over eight years ago, when it was being dismantled, there was a major explosion and fire that broke the Titan crane into pieces. Now some will be recovered and some replaced, in a mix of reconstitution and replication, and the heart of the machine had been removed before the explosion and has been preserved all these years.
Nuno Araújo, president of the Duero and Leixões Port Administration (APDL), who during the presentation launched a page online that brings together the history of the Titan, guarantees to be “a very happy day for the entire region.” The rebuilding decision was made in 2018, but only in 2020 was the first contract with companies signed for one of the many ongoing investments in APDL.
Emphasizes the interest in making the Titan something that “can be touched”, achievable by the entire community. “There are very few people who could have had the opportunity to touch Titan in the past,” he tells PÚBLICO. To do this, it aims to facilitate guided tours of the crane, which should be ready, at the latest, “next summer.” And he justifies the delay: “We are talking about many tons of iron, it is not exactly very easy to move towards reconstruction, because it is also a considerable investment.” Nuno Araújo says that they had “a heritage kept under the canvas and that the community had claimed for a long time” and, therefore, it was time to restore one of the elements of Matosinhos identity.
The crane will be functional but will not be used to move cargo. The objective of the relocation of the huge industrial archeology structure for the Cruise Terminal is to bring the community closer to this area, “promoting a direct relationship between the city and the Terminal,” explains the mayor of Matosinhos, Luísa Salgueiro. “The port is idiosyncratic for the people of Matosinhenses,” he underlines in the presentation. As such, he hopes to have “another happy day” with the opening of Titan.
At a time when “the port of Leixões is experiencing a historical moment of growth and construction of new infrastructures”, it is important to allow “the oldest to rediscover this image”, highlights the PUBLIC. The support of the City Council is part of the pedagogical part of the project, to “explain to the children what the Titan is and how the construction of the port of Leixões was”.
Unique pieces
The session began with a trip to the beginning of Leixões, guided by the historian Joel Cleto. The historical context served to show the central role of this machine in the transformation of the port of Leixões, which saw many ships and sailors fall, into a commercial port. The giant titanic cranes, “unique pieces in the world”, were powered by steam and were located on both sides of the port. Today, at the age of 135, there are “two relics of the national and even world industrial heritage”, defends Joel.
In addition to the reconstitution, the project includes a pedagogical component, the result of the intention of educating the school community about the history of the port of Leixões. A traveling exhibition will pass through the schools, accompanied by training sessions for teachers and students. Two children’s books will also be published with the history of Titan and a virtual game that simulates its construction will be launched. Finally, there will also be a contest with higher artistic education inspired by the theme.
Titan is expected to become part of the Matosinhos landscape next summer
DR
April 12, 2012 There was a large explosion, followed by three minors and a fire, at the southern pier of the port of Leixões, causing death, serious injury and several injuries. The Titan crane was being dismantled since April 3, for remodeling.
The accident was caused by fall of a piece of Titan in the pipeline gas that connected the tanker berthing point with a storage depot in Matosinhos. The investigation found that a support crane supporting the counterweight of the historic Titan crane overturned due to a failure to calculate the weight. In a statement, APDL guaranteed that it was impossible to weigh the scale before the operation, so the contractor, Eurocrane, made an estimate.
The flames were fought with automatic tanks and water cannons from two tugs. In total, 73 firefighters, from various corporations, fought the fire that broke out in Dock 1, where works were also being carried out for the construction of the reception building of the new Leixões cruise terminal.
For Guilherme Pinto, the then current mayor of Matosinhos, who has since passed away, the accident was part of the “price that Matosinhos pays for the existence of a pipeline in the urban center ”, whose conduct could have been around 50 years, he told PÚBLICO at the time. This situation has ceased to exist with the transition from fuel storage to the new facilities in Perafita and Leça da Palmeira.
Text edited by Ana Fernandes
