September 12 - Allseas Global Logistics has transported 132 buoyancy modules, weighing 8 tonnes each, to Turkey for the North Cyprus Water Supply Project.
The project will supply 19.8 million gallons a year of water for drinking and irrigation to Northern Cyprus from southern Turkey, via an 80 km long pipeline, with a diameter of 1.6 m, which will be suspended at a depth of 250 m below the water of the Mediterranean Sea.
The specially designed buoys were manufactured by Trelleborg Offshore at its Skelmersdale factory in the UK. Allseas collected the finished modules from the factory and loaded them onto trucks for road transport to the UK port of Felixstowe.
The buoys were then loaded onto flatrack containers and shipped to the Turkish port of Mersin, where Allseas handled the unloading and assisted with Customs clearance and other documentation.
The cargo was then loaded onto trucks again for the journey to Turkey's Ta?ucu commercial port, where they were finally discharged by cranes.
In addition to the buoyancy modules, Allseas shipped 270 ancillary pieces, known as bend restraints.
"The challenges of lifting, securing and transporting these huge buoys are tremendous," said Des Nott, Allseas' project manager. "For example, they were loaded end-to-end for the truck journey but side-by-side on the flatracks, so loading and unloading required a 90 degree turn."
Ruth Clay, marketing and communications manager at Trelleborg Offshore, explained that the pipeline will run across one of the deepest parts of the Mediterranean, but unlike most pipelines, will be held 250 m below the surface.
"The buoys will keep the pipeline suspended deep enough so that ships cannot hit it, but not on the seabed, where it could get damaged by debris," she added.
