110-t dump truck all in a day’s work

The recent transport of nine 110-ton dump trucks from Indonesia to South Africa on the multipurpose heavylift project carrier Beluga Federation demanded some fancy footwork from all involved, with three days required solely for preparing the ship’s deck and loading the cargo. Flat racks were specially designed and placed on open container platforms under the trucks to ensure optimal weight distribution over the entire deck. The nine dump trucks were then lifted on board from barges using the shipboard crane gear at the berth of the Beluga Federation in Balikpapan, Indonesia. “To be on the safe side, the two 120-ton cranes were used in tandem operation to place the cargo in its travel position on board by means of a twin hook lift,” Jan Erik Schulte, the responsible operator at Beluga, explained. To prevent any weather-related damage, the carrier took a safe route from Indonesia to Richards Bay, lasting 16.2 days. “The cargo was discharged and set down on the pier, safe and sound and ready for operation within one day,” Schulte added.