September 2 - The Port of Hamburg has seen a significant outsize shipment that called for special handling techniques.

The out-of-gauge consignment was manufactured by the Pullach-based Linde Engineering Division and was destined for a petrochemical plant in Brazil; the project consisted of a total of 3,600 cbm of system components for shipment on Grimaldi's Grande Buenos Aires.

A special 22-axle road transporter was required to move an oversized tail gas drum measuring 36.5m in length, 4.4m wide and 4.4m high and weighing 78 tonnes for delivery to the quayside. The overall truck transport unit, including the prime mover, came to a length of 72m and weighed some 200 tonnes.

In the first half of 2009, the Port of Hamburg handled 340,000 tonnes of project consignments and heavy loads, an increase of 2.1 0n compared with the first half of 2008. Project consignments and heavy goods imports showed a decline of 1.20r 1,100 tonnes in comparison with 2008, while exports achieved positive results with an increase of 8,200 tons, or 3.4 0n the same period.

In the next edition of Heavy Lift & Project Forwarding International, we take a detailed look at the vibrant and complex issues facing the heavy lift and project forwarding sectors in Germany.