dship Carriers, a deugro group company, recently carried out the transport of project cargo for Simec Atlantis Energy following a call up by Global Renewable Shipbrokers. dship Carriers transported a tidal turbine, main foundation, ballast blocks and further components from Nigg, Scotland to Nagasaki, Japan.

The total weight amounted to 1,714 metric tons (mt) and encompassed several heavy lift and oversized units with weights up to 205 mt and measurements up to 19.82 x 16 x 11.19 metres. All these components will be used to win predictable sustainable energy from the tidal turbine through the steady flow of water in the open sea, dship said in its statement.

Detailed planning enabled the project cargo shipment

dship’s team of port captains planned the lifting procedure and stowage positions of all pieces and addressed all key challenges at an early stage. On paper, the height of the foundation was exceeding the height of the ship’s holds. The tidal turbine, the main foundation and the ballast blocks, along with a range of equipment, were loaded under deck of the vessel MV Josef at Nigg, Scotland. MV Josef is a multi-purpose heavy lift dry cargo vessel with a combined crane capacity of up to 360 mt.

“For the safe handling and transportation of the cargo, we developed detailed lifting and sea-fastening plans as well as calculations. The height of the main foundation was 11.19 m, whereas the nominal clear height in the hold is 11.18 m only. Due to the individual shape of the hatch cover in the relevant stowage position, it was possible to accommodate the main foundation safely,” said Captain Hauke Bindemann, Supercargo / Port Captain, dship Carriers, Germany.

11,000 nautical miles journey

Once the cargo units were stowed safely and secured with stopper plates and lashing chains, MV Josef set sail towards Nagasaki, Japan. After 11,000 nautical miles, the vessel arrived at its destination and all cargo units were discharged according to plan directly onto a barge for the further transport to the project site.

“Developing this project for our client Simec Atlantis Energy was the definition of “seamless” – we were engaged in an early stage and could provide detailed engineering input from the very first moment. Developing the technical proposal as well as negotiating the commercial terms all happened on a level playing field and we developed a true sense of partnership and trust between the client, the broker and us,” said Jonas Schwebe, chartering manager, dship Carriers, Germany.

“This project required excellent preplanning. dship Carriers has the expertise and the equipment for such unique challenges, and we are proud of the successful execution for our client,” stated Lars Feller, global vice president, dship Carriers.

dship Carriers released a video of the whole operation which can be viewed below.