February 11 - Ravenna-based Compagnia Trasporti e Spedizioni (CTS) has moved a new, 1,000 tonne drawbridge into place in Ravenna, Italy in a delicate operation that involved barge transport and was undertaken in front of cameras from a local TV station.
In an operation brokered by CTS, two 500 tonne sections were barged along the canal to the site of their erection from the fabrication yard in Ravenna for the client, manufacturer Fratelli Baruzzi of Ravenna.
Because of imbalances on the barge, 100 tonnes of iron plates were required as ballast. This brought the total weight of each movement to 600 tonnes.
The entire operation took just one day to undertake, though planning for the operation had taken one year.
CTS employed 10 technicians, its 30 axle hydraulic powered car Shuerle and four radio-controlled motors and an innovative lifting system with centralised hydraulic pistons with a 1,000 tonne capacity during the operation. As well, four mobile cranes up to 220 tons capacity, one barge 60m in length and 20m wide with two tugs, some 200 tonnes of solid ballast and 36,000 tonnes of liquid ballast were also used.
CTS is also involved in heavy lift operations in the area of Triest, as a shareholder in a local company Logitruck, where under that name operations of moving Wartsila ships' engines and Redaelli cable drums is regularly taking place.
