August 21 - Hansa Heavy Lift's HHL Richards Bay has carried two reactors from India to the Port of New Orleans.
The heaviest reactor had a weight of 830 tonnes with a length of 39 m, while the lighter reactor weighed in at 405 tonnes with a length of 56 m.
Both reactors were delivered by barge and loaded onboard HHL Richards Bay using its two cranes with a combined lifting capacity of 1,400 tonnes in Mumbai, India.
"Due to the length of the reactor at 56 m it was not possible to load the piece parallel," explained Heiner Heise, cargo superintendent at Hansa. "The solution to the operation was to swing the smallest crane away to its maximum outreach.
"The crane with the lifting capacity of 700 tonnes was topping and swinging first, so that the reactor could pass the second crane. The other crane needed to follow this line. Finally the piece was over the hold and kept parallel while being lowered into the hold."
While loading the heavier reactor, Hansa explained that there was only a 10 cm clearance on each side of the beam underneath the cargo, so the piece had to be lifted straight up.
"Heavy load platforms were placed under each saddle to distribute the weight. Prior to this we ensured all the measurements were exact as we would not be able to move the heavy lift platforms once the cargo was in place," added Ian Broad, director of cargo management at the company.
In addition, the Hansa crew was challenged by the load spreading required on the vessel's tank top, but Joerg Roehl, chief commercial officer and managing director of the line explained that its capable equipment and experienced crew enabled it to tackle this challenging move, and the cargo was safely unloaded in New Orleans.
