Tricky turbine transport for Behala
18 September 2013
A Siemens SGT5-8000H turbine weighs 440 tonnes and has a power output of 375 MW. Unlike other turbines, which are transported out of the Siemens turbine factory in Berlin, Germany, by road, SGT5-8000H turbines have to be transported by water. Weight limits on the bridges and tunnels in the Moabit district of the capital city preclude road travel. The journey from the plant to the Westhafen heavy duty intermodal terminal was by ship, via the Charlottenburg Canal.
To overcome the road restrictions, Behala, Siemens and Berlin Technical University developed a logistics project, which included the development of a heavy duty roll-on, roll-off shuttle barge named Ursus. The research project won the 2012 Berlin Logistics Award.
The Ursus is used in conjunction with a PST/SL 12 (1+1) self propelled heavy duty modular transporter (SPMT) system from Goldhofer in Germany. The system has a hydrostatic drive and a 360 kW power pack.
On a typical transportation of an SGT5-8000H turbine, the Ursus leaves the Westhafen with the Goldhofer on board and sails to the ro-ro loading ramp on the Charlottenburg Canal, which is close to the Siemens factory. Using this route, daytime operations can be permitted as the roads only need to be closed for a short time.
From there police escort the SPMT to the Siemens gas turbine production plant. Once loaded with the turbine, the SPMT sets off to the ramp on the Charlottenburg Canal where it is driven onto the Ursus. It takes three hours by barge to reach Berlin’s Westhafen. At the terminal the turbine is lifted onto a barge for the next leg of the journey to Hamburg’s sea port before it can be transported elsewhere in Europe and beyond, to Asia and the USA.
Klaus Günter Lichtfuss, logistics manager at Behala, said, “The complete process is running really smoothly; everything has worked out just as we wanted.”
Depending on the payload, Behala deploys the PST/SL modules in a combination with 12 or 18 axles. Lichtfuss explains more, “For operations within the port, we employ two PST/SL modules in a 12-axle side-by-side combination. For ro-ro work and on the Ursus we use a 12-axle combination coupled end-to-end. For loads in excess of 300 tonnes, we add a third module on land for a total of eighteen axles.”