Over a period of several months, the individual components had been transported from various production facilities to the Barlage plant in Haren. There the components were assembled and the final touches made to the heat exchangers.
The six heat exchangers comprised: two coolers weighing 658t and measuring 46.33 x 6.22 x 7.32m (LxWxH), two coolers weighing 429t and measuring 29.06 x 5.58 x 7.53m, and two coolers weighing 466t and measuring 32.25 x 6.42 x 6.95m.
The KAHL Group was then tasked with the heavy haulage operation of moving the heat exchangers from the assembly plant to the quay. Although the route was only about 800m long, it was very challenging due to the need to negotiate the confined spaces all the way round the harbour.
More specifically for the transportation of the 658t cooler, the company used Goldhofer heavy-duty modules in a trailing unit configuration with two 12 PST/SL-E axle lines. This solution allowed the transport team to pick up the large cargo hydraulically without the use of a crane. Each 12-axle unit was powered by a high-performance 490hp Powerpack.
“The equipment used for the operation was a P 1+1/2 split combination, with one module divided lengthwise and coupled parallel to a second full module. The advantage of this combination is that it offers appreciably better stability than a single-width transporter on the one hand and requires less space for manoeuvring than a double-width P 1+1 combination on the other,” said Goldhofer.
With the 658t load lashed onto the two one-and-a-half width self-propelled transporter combinations, the total train length exceeded 50m and the load width was 6.43m.
The team then had to negotiate three 90° bends. Careful maneuvering was necessary to avoid a number of permanent obstacles (silos, walls, lighting fixtures and others) and various items waiting for collection. With electronic steering on all axles and low travel speed, the experts successfully guided the train through all the narrow sections of the route.
At the quay, two Liebherr LR 1600 lattice boom crawlers lifted the heat exchangers into the belly of the transport vessel.