The barge-mounted crane is named after the late Mike Hendricks, who worked more than 30 years for the Corps until his death in 2008.

His widow, Linda Hendricks of Benton, and other family members were on hand as his son Josh broke the champagne bottle and put the giant floating crane into full service. In addition to being the state's largest crane, it is the second-largest in the entire Corps nationwide. It was constructed to conduct routine maintenance and repairs on Montgomery Point Lock and Dam on the lower White River near its confluence with the Mississippi River in Southeast Arkansas.

The crane barge is 260 feet long by 84 feet wide and has a 12 foot hull depth. The pedestal-mounted Manitowoc 18,000 crane has a 200-foot boom and a capacity of lifting up to 285 tons.