To Normandy

COORDINADORA carried out the transport of a 445 Mt reactor with dimensions of 30.91 x 5.60 x 4.65m, from Arles (France) to TOTAL Normandy Refinery (France).

Although COORDINADORA is used to this kind of operations and cargos, this time there were some critical points to study and to have in consideration for a successful transport: on a first stage, the road transport from the manufacturer’s premises up to Arles Port, the vehicle with the reactor had to pass underneath a bridge with just 10 cm air clearance and immediately after, it had to negotiate a slope of up to an 8%.

Thanks to the previous onsite measurements and studies, there were no problems and the reactor reached the port where two crawler cranes worked in tandem for the loading operation. For this, it was also necessary to carry out a ground pressure study to check the strength of the new extension of the port where the crawler cranes were working.

The second stage consisted of a dedicated rive/sea voyage on a coaster vessel from Arles Port (France) to Dresser Berth at Le Havre Port (France). This arrival berth was chosen due to the cargo dimensions and weight that made it the most suitable for the subsequent road transportation. However, due to the limited dimensions of the berth, the unloading process had to be performed with just one crane. This was one of the most critical points of the operation, so the presence and intervention of COORDINADORA personnel, acting as port captain and heavy lift supervisor in Le Havre during the job, was crucial because part of the rigging configuration had to be changed in situ, when it did not comply with COORDINADORA safety standards for Heavy Lift Operations. The final stage of the transport took place by road from Dresser up to DGO5 Project site at TOTAL Refinery by means of 14 double axles SPMT vehicle, where the reactor arrived with no setbacks.