SECTION SPONSOR
PORTS & PORT SERVICES
TRANSPORTING THE LONGEST TURBINE BLADE FROM THE USA
LV Shipping, whose UK office network includes north-east bases in Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Sunderland, recently transported one of the world’s longest turbine blades from the USA to the Catapult ORE test facility in Blyth, UK where it will undergo a six month testing programme.
LIFTING
The blade was then lifted by the ocean vessel’s own cranes directly on to the deck of the coaster. Upon arrival at Blyth (where LV’s ship’s agency department handled the vessel’s call) the blade was lifted from the deck of the coaster vessel by two mobile cranes onto a waiting special extendable trailer and once secured made the relatively short trip to the Catapult ORE testing facility.
PROTOTYPE BLADE
The prototype blade is one of the most innovative offshore wind turbine rotor blades in the world and was manufactured in the UK and USA, before being assembled at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
SPECIFICATIONS • Length – 78.385 metres • Width – 4.30 metres • Height – 4.71 metres • Weight – 30.3 tonnes
THE JOURNEY
The first leg of the journey was by river barge from NASA’s facility to the port of New Orleans, where the blade was discharged by two crawler cranes onto the quayside.
The second leg was by ocean vessel from New Orleans to the port of Antwerp; firstly the blade had to be repositioned from the point of discharge in New Orleans port to the new quayside location where the ocean vessel would be loaded. This was accomplished by using two crawler cranes and LV staff were on hand to supervise the move, along with the loading on to ocean- going vessel by using two of the vessel’s cranes, before setting sail for Antwerp.
The third leg of the journey was undertaken by a coaster vessel from Antwerp to the Port of Blyth in Northumberland; again LV staff were present when the ocean vessel arrived at Antwerp, with the coaster vessel waiting and then pulling alongside.
METICULOUS PROJECT PLANNING Operational, engineering and HSQE personnel from LV’s offices in Houston, Holland and the UK were involved in the meticulous planning of the project and helped to ensure that the blade was delivered to its final destination safely and on time.
LV Shipping
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
15
NORTH EAST OF ENGLAND
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92