TMA Logistics, Van der Vlist and the port of Amsterdam have worked together to facilitate the handling of wind turbine blades to a project in Flevopolder, the Netherlands.
Allard Klinkers, commercial manager at the port of Amsterdam, explained: “The longest wind turbine blades that are being used in this country at this moment, had to be transported to the Flevopolder. These blades are almost 85 m long, and to be able to transport them, a 95 m-long convoy of trucks was necessary. It was quite the undertaking to go on the road with these trucks, as well as making bends and going over roundabouts. Thankfully, we are prepared for these types of special transports. Roads and roundabouts are strategically designed, so the transport of long objects is made possible.
“Unfortunately, the lamp posts at the entryway to the highway had to be moved to be able to make the bend. Van der Vlist made this possible, in cooperation with TMA Logistics and the port of Amsterdam.”
Pieter Boer, managing director at Van der Vlist, added that each turbine consists of approximately 13 special transports. “Some parts are so big we have to transport them multimodally, because of the restrictions of the road network,” he said. “We ship them to the Flevokusthaven, where we unload them with our own reach stackers and transport them with special trailers to the site.”
Over the past year and a half, he said that Van der Vlist has transported around 200 wind turbines this way – through the port of Amsterdam and through its terminal in Moerdijk to the Flevopolder. “These turbine blades were destined for the Windplan Groen project… but we also transport a lot of turbines to multiple destinations in the Benelux, Germany, and France,” added Boer.
