ALE moves a colossus in Rhodes

International heavy lift and transport company ALE moved the heaviest and largest pieces delivered on the island of Rhodes, Greece, as part of the South Rhodes power plant project - a diesel engines plant with a net capacity of 115 megawatts.

The company was contracted to transport seven engines and seven generators from the quay of Lardos to the South Rhodes power plant, before installing them on site.

The engines, weighing 287 tonnes and 6.5 x 14 x 4.3 m (LxWxH), were the largest pieces that have ever been delivered on the island, the company said. In consideration of their abnormally large size and heavy weight, ALE had to negotiate any interference, including the electricity and telephone networks on the route.

Using a mixture of conventional trailers and self propelled modular transporter (SPMT), where ALE needed to navigate the narrow streets of the tourist area of Kiotari with 90 degree turns, the engines and generators were transported 35 kilometres to the power plant. On site the modules were connected and installed using jacking and skidding systems.

The route around Kiotari presented several challenges, for example, narrow streets, pass over bridges with rafting beams, reinforcement and overhead cables. With effective design and routing by ALE’s teams in Spain, as well as the close collaboration between the logistics team, local authorities and the utilities networks, the company said it avoided disruption to the general public and delivered the 14 pieces safely and on schedule.