Berard moves US$ 440 million warship

US heavy haulage specialist Berard Transportation has transported a warship costing US$ 440 million for the US Navy.

The vessel, the USS Coronado, was moved using transport equipment from Goldhofer Aktiengesellschaft of Memmingen, Germany. For the project Goldhofer PST/ES-E and PST/SL-E heavy-duty modules with multi-way steering were chosen. In total, 104 axle lines were used to move the vessel.

To synchronise the hydraulic functions of the two vehicles, a CAN bus system was used; this made it possible for the vehicle to be handled by a single operator using remote control, a company spokesperson said.

To move the vessel ready for launch, the 2,800 US ton (2,540 tonne) navy ship was loaded onto Goldhofer’s self-propelled PST/SL-E modules in the Alabama shipyard, which belongs to Australian shipbuilder Austal. For the second phase of the project, the vessel, which measures 127 metres long and 30 m wide, was transferred to a floating dock so it could be moved to a dry dock further downstream. Here the Goldhofer axle lines were used to move the vessel into the dock.

Commenting on the move, Braedon Berard, Berard Transportation chief operating officer, said, “For us, it is naturally a great distinction to be entrusted with a highly prestigious job of such importance for our country. It was a superb experience and also a great pleasure to co-operate with the specialists from Austal.

“We had just two days to handle the project and, thanks to our long years of experience with special transportation work and the reliable equipment from Goldhofer, we completed the job on time and without any incidents. We can always rely on our Goldhofer axle lines. We are very happy to have such a strong partner as Goldhofer behind us for handling challenging assignments.”

Stefan Fuchs, Goldhofer CEO, said, “The US Navy contract is an excellent reference for our company, too, and I’m very pleased we were once again able to help Braedon and his fine team handle such an impressive project. In Memmingen we are, of course, very proud to see the world’s most expensive and important vessels travelling on Goldhofer axles before they are launched.”