Ship sent for scrap using SPMT

A decommissioned Royal Australian Navy frigate made its final journey, on self propelled modular transporter (SPMT) from German transport innovator Scheuerle, part of heavy load transport conglomerate Tii Group, before being scrapped. After covering nearly 959,627 nautical miles over 32 years, the ex-HMS Sydney was towed to Henderson in Western Australia, ready for disposal.

It docked at a facility owned by Australian government body, the Australian Marine Complex (ACM), which used Scheuerle’s SMPT to transfer the vessel from the floating dock to the hardstand. The disposal process required the ship to be as close to the ground as possible, so there was just 200mm clearance between the bottom of the rudder to the ground. According to Scheuerle, ACM also operated the SPMT using special solid flat tyres to ensure maximum tilting stability.

Scheuerle said its SPMT steering technology enabled precise positing of the Sydney, which it claimed had a displacement load of 4,100 tons. According to Scheuerle, the individual module transporters can be coupled in any combination, either mechanically or in open compounds. The steering technology ensures the synchronised control of all module transporters integrated in the coupling mode, while electronic all-wheel steering makes the module transporters extremely maneuverable, said Scheuerle. This makes them suitable to transport almost any load and provides precision-positioning of ± 2 mm, the company added.