March 29 - Robert Wynn & Sons' Terra Marique has successfully delivered two 270 tonne quad boosters, becoming one the largest vessel in modern times to navigate the River Ribble upstream of Preston Docks in the north of the UK.
The large tidal range of the River Ribble meant that the shipment was many months in the planning.
Carried together on a girder frame trailer belonging to Allelys Heavy Haulage, each quad booster was loaded inEllesmere Port on the River Mersey, navigating the short distance to arrive the following day on the River Ribble.
Terra Marique manoeuvred under her own power across the Ribble so that the gross load of over 500 tonne could be rolled off on to the river bank. In an four-hour operation the 80 m long vessel nearly extended across the whole width of the waterway, as can be seen from the picture below.
The cargoes were destined for an electricity substation approximately five miles from the transhipment point. Other large abnormal loads destined for Preston have previously been road routed more than 60 miles from the Port of Liverpool.
Robert Wynn & Sons general manager, Chris Johnson commented that "after so long in the planning he was very happy with both offloads. Terra Marique was designed to carry out such manoeuvres but with the River Ribble being a tidal waterway it was important that we got it right."
