by Nick Drew | Wed 21 Feb 2018
Ageing Akerman’s Durability
This classic old Akerman H25C is owned by Pentland Ferry’s and incredibly they still use the big old Swedish machine, a real testament to the quality & durability of these old machines. The salty sea air in the far North of Scotland has certainly taken its toll on the old girl cosmetically. But the machine was set to be put back into regular use, mounted on a barge to perform dredging work.
The 54 tonne Akerman H25C series excavators, were first launched back in 1979 and had a ten-year production run, during which time 148 machines were manufactured. Production continued from 89-90 with the machine being fitted with an all new “comfort cab” with a further 8 machines being assembled. They were powered by a 326hp Volvo Penta TD120C engine.
Incredibly, some months later, the machine was eventually loaded onto the dredging barge, which was set to be its new home for the foreseeable future as it travelled around the Orkney and Pentland Firth areas, dredging to make better access for the ferry.
It would be really great to hear if the machine is still in action to this day and if anyone locally in the area has an update it would be great to hear from you.
Check out this video from our friend Alexander Lipkin of an Akerman H25B model working in some soft ground conditions in Sweden in 2015.