Big leaguers on board
As wind power continues to expand, heavy transport is also growing as everything from high towers, turbine blades and especially the cranes used to install them, must all be transported. When Mammoet’s specialized cranes had to be shipped across the Baltic Sea, the choice was RoRo.
In early 2021, the telephone rang at WALLENIUS SOL with Gordon Dehne, Global Manager Shipping & Logistics at Mammoet Netherlands on the other end of the line. He needed help with shipping high special cranes from Germany and Belgium up to Finland.
‘We immediately understood that something big was in the offing, so to speak,’ says Kai Peränen, Commercial Manager, WALLENIUS SOL.
They had to ship 36 units to five different destinations in Ostrobothnia in Finland between April and September. Most of the cranes would be used to assemble 52 wind turbines, each with an overall height of 220 metres. A job that would demand proper, big league cranes.
‘RoRo was an attractive shipping solution for us, not just in terms of price and a reliable timetable, but mainly because it’s increasingly difficult to ship project equipment by road due to the permits required in some European countries (such as Germany and Poland),’ says Gordon Dehne, Mammoet.
WALLENIUS SOL did not hesitate for one second; it was welcome aboard for the Mammoet cranes.
‘We’re used to high, heavy and wide loads, so this was nothing out of the ordinary, but we mustn’t forget we’re talking about huge cranes. Because we couldn’t ship them all in one consignment there was about 150 parts of crane components and counterweights as well as a number of complete mobile cranes on board. The mobile cranes weighed from 60 to 108 tons,’ says Kai Peränen.
Throughout the period, WALLENIUS SOL operated cranes on behalf of Mammoet Europe B.V on the Travemünde - Vaasa and Jakobstad - Lübeck / Travemünde routes, but also 53 units for Mammoet Road Cargo between Antwerp and Kemi.
