Heavy Lift

Constant high water has been eroding the city of Venice for decades. The plan to build a surge barrier against the tides that cause the so-called “Acqua Alta” has been underway for nearly forty years, but only now is the massive 7-billion-euro surge barrier nearing completion.

An in-depth look at the complex heavy lift process of taking an old ship, cutting it in half, and stretching it – an operation called Jumboisation, increasingly common as the demand in the lucrative cruise industry for bigger ships that can haul more and more passengers.

The story of the Antonov An-225, a relic of the cold war era aircraft made in the Ukraine that still flies challenging missions today. It is the biggest airplane in the world and holds the most air records for cargo lift.