The Riveter · Riveting Stories from the Banks of the Clyde

The Titan Crane

Greenock’s landmark and the men behind the steel

September 2026

You can see it from the office. On a clear day it stands against the hills across the water, and on a grey one it looks like it was cut out of the sky. The Titan Crane at James Watt Dock has watched over Greenock for more than a hundred years, and it is the reason our rum is called Titan.

But a crane does not build itself. This issue is about the men who did.

A Titan for Greenock, 1917

The Titan Crane at James Watt Dock was built by Sir William Arrol and Company and went into service in 1917, in the middle of the First World War. Arrol's firm was already famous. The same Glasgow engineers had built the Forth Bridge and the steelwork for Tower Bridge in London, and they had become the name for giant cantilever cranes on the Clyde.

The Greenock Titan was rated to lift 150 tonnes. Its job was fitting out: once a hull had been launched, ships were brought alongside at James Watt Dock and the crane lifted their engines and boilers down into them. Many of those engines came from John G. Kincaid and Company, the marine engineers whose works sat just across East Hamilton Street.

Today it is one of only a handful of Titan cranes left on the River Clyde, and it is a Category A listed structure, protected for what it tells us about the river that built the world's ships.

Built by hand, one rivet at a time

Every joint in a crane like this was held together with rivets. In Issue 01 of The Riveter we told the story of the riveting squad: the heater who brought the rivet to white heat in a coke fire, the catch-boy who caught it in a tin can, the holder-on who braced it from behind, and the riveter who hammered it home. Four people, working as one, thousands of times a day.

Building a crane meant doing that work high above the dock, in Clyde weather, on narrow steel with no safety nets. The noise was relentless. Many riveters lost their hearing. Injuries were common, and the pay depended on how many rivets a squad drove in a shift. It was hard, skilled, dangerous graft, and the men who did it were proud of it.

The names behind the steel

History remembers the engineers and the companies. It is less good at remembering the squads.

If your grandfather or great-grandfather worked on the Titan Crane, at James Watt Dock or at Kincaid's, we would love to hear from you. Reply to The Riveter or message us and we will share the best stories in a future issue.

Why we named a rum after it

When the founders started Titan, they were looking for something that said where they come from without needing an explanation. The crane was it. Everyone in Inverclyde knows it. It stands for the industry that built the Lower Clyde, and for the people who did the work.

We did not want to borrow that and give nothing back. That is why The Riveter exists: to tell the stories properly, with real history and real people, and not just use a silhouette on a label.

You will find the crane on every bottle of Titan Spiced Rum and Titan Orange Rum: the gantry beam across the top of the label and the tower running down into the old sugar buildings below.

Visiting the Titan Crane in Greenock

The crane stands at James Watt Dock, at the east end of Greenock town centre, next to James Watt Dock Marina and the listed sugar warehouse. It is not open to climb, but it is easy to see from the marina and the A8, and it makes a striking photo from across the dock at sunset. Pair it with a walk along the Greenock waterfront, where you will find The Yardmen sculpture, and a trip along to Port Glasgow to see The Skelpies.

Questions people ask

When was the Titan Crane in Greenock built?

The Titan Crane at James Watt Dock, Greenock, was built by Sir William Arrol and Company and entered service in 1917.

What was the Titan Crane used for?

It was used for fitting out ships. The crane lifted engines and boilers, up to 150 tonnes, into newly launched vessels moored at James Watt Dock.

How many Titan cranes are left on the Clyde?

Only a few survive. As well as the Greenock crane, Titan cranes still stand at Clydebank, Finnieston and Scotstoun, each a protected reminder of Clyde shipbuilding.

Why is Titan rum called Titan?

Titan Spirits is named after the Titan Crane at James Watt Dock in Greenock, a landmark visible from our office and a symbol of the Clydeside industry our rum celebrates.

Keep reading

Discover more about the Lower Clyde's shipyards and sugar refineries on our Heritage page or meet the people behind the brand on About Us.

Rooted in heritage. Shaped by resilience. Shared with pride.