PRESS RELEASE  – Wallenius Wilhelmsen has transported a 39-metre long drag conveyor across the Atlantic for Spanish manufacturer Intrame. Together with other parts of a dismantled asphalt plant, the cargo was transported over sea from Santander in Spain to Baltimore in the United States.

The piece of equipment was transported while fully constructed. Wallenius Wilhelmsen placed the cargo on two multipurpose bogies which in turn were placed on 40-foot roll trailers to easily manoeuvre the cargo onto the ro/ro vessel using tug vehicles.

The combined length of the manoeuvre, including the product itself, the roll trailers and tug masters, measured in at 65 metres. “Due to this sizeable length, great care had to be taken to consider the angle of the vessel’s ramp and to try to keep the product as flat as possible. The final part of the manoeuvre to fit the conveyor into its assigned space on the ship was particularly challenging given the narrow dimensions involved, so a slow and considered approach was critical”, the ro/ro carrier states.

To devise the right handling solution, Wallenius Wilhelmsen worked closely with the engineers at Intrame to propose equipment and lashing solutions. Ahead of the conveyor’s departure from the port of Santander, WW Ocean also ran a test-drive to practice the handling procedure.

According to the ro/ro carier, transporting the drag conveyor fully assembled generated time and cost savings for Intrame.  “Shipping dismantled products and then assembling them at the final destination causes delays and incurs costs as that requires sending a construction team to oversee the mantling process”, comments WW’s sales representative Olga Romero.