Staffordshire, UK-based Robert Wynn & Sons has delivered a transformer for Statkraft’s Thornton greener grid park project, working in partnership with Collett & Sons.
The operation began at Portland Port, where Robert Wynn & Sons’ heavy lift ro-ro barge Terra Marique loaded a 24-axle girder frame trailer of 140 tonnes. The vessel then proceeded to the RHB Terminal in Rotterdam, where a 215-tonne transformer was lifted on board, onto the girder frame trailer using two dockside cranes in a tandem lift arrangement.
Following sea passage, Terra Marique arrived at Associated British Ports’ (ABP) port of Hull and proceeded into Albert Dock, where it manoeuvred under its own power before the successful roll-off of the cargo for onward transportation to site by Collett & Sons.
The use of Albert Dock was necessary due to road route restrictions locally but this presented a unique operational challenge, requiring a bespoke offloading arrangement via the Terra Marique. Specific load-spreading configurations were developed to ensure that weaker sections of the quay behind the quay wall were not overloaded during the roll-off operation.
Only six months ago, there was no agreed method for moving heavy transformers through Albert Dock due to these quay limitations. Through detailed engineering, ground investigations, coordination and careful planning, Robert Wynn & Sons worked alongside Collett, ABP and other project partners to develop a solution that has enabled Albert Dock to receive transformers of roughly 200 tonnes. “This operation demonstrated the dynamic use of the Terra Marique’s capabilities to overcome site-specific restrictions,” said Andy Manners, general manager at the specialist shipping company.
He added that by working with its partners “we were able to deliver a safe, efficient solution that protected the existing infrastructure. It’s particularly rewarding to have helped re-establish Albert Dock as a practical location for future transformer movements”.
