Spain’s Altius has coordinated the delivery of 925 tonnes of cargo, including six heavy lift units, for a project in Huelva, Spain.
Altogether, Altius handled 40 units totalling 6,400 cu m. The heavy lift units comprised a cold box and exchanger, with some components measuring up to 31 m x 6.15 m x 6 m and weighing 184 tonnes.
The cargo was shipped from a private jetty in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, to the port of Huelva. From there, Altius arranged the road transport to the final delivery site around 10 km away.
Considering the extraordinary dimensions for the transport convoy, extensive coordination with port terminal, traffic and port police, and road department authorities was required to facilitate departure from the port. This involved blocking traffic in both directions.
The biggest milestone of the operation was the transport of the heaviest unit ever moved across the Rio Tinto Bridge, with the final transport dimensions reaching 91.54 m x 6.15 m x 7 m and tipping the scales at 350 tonnes.
Due to the age of the structure, Altius had to find a suitable transport configuration that complied with the bridge’s restrictions. This resulted in the company building two additional 14 m-long transport beams to assist with the weight distribution.
Altius also organised the measurement of the bridge’s deflection before, during and after the transport to ensure and review the safety and structural integrity of the cargo. Additionally, works were carried out on the highway median to allow the transport to cross in the opposite direction.
Once at the delivery site, internal plant limitations meant it was not possible to reach the components’ final position with the equipment used for the main road transport. Therefore, Altius and its partnering transport company arranged a transhipment area nearby the main access where the heavy units were reloaded onto SPMTs.
Last month, HLPFI reported that Altius had delivered a 196-tonne transformer from China to Spain.
