October 26 - Eastern Shipping of Romania arranged the transportation of three methanol reactors, weighing 378 tonnes each, from Bucharest, Romania to Constanta port, where the units were loaded on board the geared heavy lift ships, BBC Parana and BBC Euro
Each of the three units, headed for Assaluyeh in Iran, measured 17 m in length and 7.4 m in diameter, which the Romanian company explained proved a real challenge for engineering an intermodal solution using overland trucking and a ro-ro barge.
For pre-carriage, two trailers were used, each of 14 axles connected in parallel, with mechanical traction provided by a 660 HP pulling truck and a 330 HP pushing truck.
With the overall dimensions of the trucks and trailers measuring 45.5 m in length, 7.4 m in width and 8.4 m in height, the convoy occupied both carriageways of the roads that were used for much of the 18-hour journey.
Eastern Shipping had to coordinate that activities of a group of 22 suppliers during the overland transport including electrical and cable companies, railroads, police, as well as civil engineering companies.
Once the convoy reached the loading point on the Danube river, Eastern Shipping arranged the civil works to create a working ro-ro berth.
First the reactors were discharged onto elephant legs, before 20 axle lines of SPMT (10+10 in parallel) were deployed to transfer the units to the barge.
The stowage plan, lashing and stability calculations for the barge met the shipping line's needs in regards to the stowage plan and outreach of the ship, which helped produce a safe and smooth loading and securing operation on board.
