18,000 Tons on Cometto SPMTs
THE LOAD-OUT PROJECT OF A FLOATING DOCK IN SOUTH KOREA IS AN ABSOLUTE XXL EXPERIENCE. AFTER DETAILED PREPARATION WORK, THE 260-METRE GIANT, WITH A WEIGHT OF 18,000 TONS BEGINS ITS JOURNEY, TO ITS FINAL DESTINATION IN EGYPT.
The starting point of this extraordinary spectacle was the SangSangIn Ship Machinery in GwangYang port. The task, to move the floating dock about 300 metres out of the installation location and load it on to a barge ship. Besides the impressive length and weight of the freight, the steel colossus featured a width of 62 metres and a height of approximately 22.5 metres.
380 modular axle lines of Cometto.
As a contractor, the competence of the three well-known South Korean heavy load specialists Anjeon, DaeMyung and Global comes together. “The three companies have sent their SPMT fleets to the site to master the challenge. A total of 380 modular axle lines of Cometto MSPE have been assembled, comprising sixty-two 6-axle units two 4-axle units”, explains Alberto Di Stefano, Sales Manager at Cometto.
The complete system was driven by 12 Power Pack Units with 335 kW each. “The high payload capacity and the reliable handling of the Cometto modules are decisive advantages for this outstanding job”, says Alberto Di Stefano about the feedback from the executing partners. “Such projects are realisable thanks to the payload capacity of the Cometto MSPE which reaches a value of up to 70 tons per axle line – the highest amount on the market. Additionally, the patented Cometto Dual-Link suspension offers an optimized force repartition in the suspension structure. The axle geometry gives the highest possible precision during the load positioning”.
All the 380 SPMT axle lines were positioned in twelve independent convoys supporting four areas under each corner of the floating dock and worked together in an open compound. The convoy connection between the Cometto SPMTs was kicked off as soon as the Cometto engineers accompanied by experts from Bokook – the Cometto partner in South Korea – arrived at the port job site.
The Cometto SPMTs in convoy were all set quickly to kick off the load-out process. First, the position of the supports had to be adjusted a little, then the load-out project was successfully completed.
The huge floating dock is capable fo lifting up to 35,000 tons. SangSangIn Ship Machinery signed a contract with Suez Canal Authority of Egypt in November 2021 to build this floating dock, worth approximately 90 billion South Korean won, approx. 64 Million Euros. The Koreans started manufacturing the floating dock in May 2022 and less than a year later, the finished item is ready to do the first missions.