November 4 - A high-speed passenger ferry, Jolie France, was moved by high and heavy haulier Lecoq using a 35 m Nicolas trailer from its shipyard to its launch.
Normally, vessels are launched directly from the shipyard to the waves but the Marine Concept shipyard is, unusually, 5 km inland.
The shipbuilder is located in Granville, France.
The 55 tonne ferry was moved using a vehicle transporter, a modular MDEL-TP platform trailer, three x 5 axle lines together with a flatbed deck.
The ferry is 29 m long, 7.5 m wide and 7.5 m high and has been designed carry up to 280 passengers from Granville along the coast up to the Chausey islands. The bows of the ship were lifted upwards by crane so that the Nicolasvehicle combination could be driven underneath it. The low platform trailer height of 0.875 m together with the hydraulic axle compensation of +0.465 / -0.215 m meant the boat was safely accommodated on the transporter.
In order to move the vessel out of the production hall, the main doors were dismantled but the exit area of the facility also had to be extended. The entire 35 m long combination travelled through small villages and narrow tree-lined avenues. Numerous traffic signs and tree branches had to make way for the gigantic convoy.
