Two minehunting naval ships, each weighing 670 metric tonnes, being transported between France and the Persian Gulf. For the two French Navy-owned ships, which also measured 51.50 x 8.90 x 3.80 metres, it was a two way trip after they were loaded onto the HHL Fremantlein Brest and transported to the Persian Gulf, before being brought back again on a second voyage, with both locations being military bases. The project freight movement was completed by Hamburg headquartered Hansa Heavy Lift whose Director of Global Sales, Walter Prosetti, commented:
“Crews had to be especially vigilant when handling these two military ships due to the sensitivity of the cargo. We were also faced with extreme weather issues, with high winds in France restricting our movements, as well as intense heat in the Persian Gulf at 46C, which compelled us to install air conditioning on-board. Furthermore, as this operation took place on military bases, we had to comply with restricted access, coordination between varying authorities, and re-flagging requirements.”
Adjustments had to be made to the load spreading at the keel and cradle belting to avoid overloading the fiberglass hull and both minehunters needed electrical connection for the duration of the journeys, meaning extra transformers had to be purchased to supply the correct level of power. Accommodation modules were rented and connected for additional technicians from the charterer, who also travelled on-board. Another challenge included the tight outreach of the cranes, which meant crews had to rearrange the keel blocks whilst the cargo was hanging on the hooks. Svilen Ivanov, Project Engineer, Hansa Heavy Lift elaborated, saying:
“Creating the lifting arrangement, stowage, and securing plan was actually the easiest part; then came the task of ensuring all parties involved were synchronised, that each stage took place sequentially, and dealing with the unexpected.
“Positioning the cradles under water when the wind was picking up was challenging, particularly when we needed to be precise to the centimetre and at the same time keep the hard edges away from the sensitive hull. In order to avoid calling at any ports with such sensitive materials on-board, we carried out a full bunker’s replenishment on both occasions before loading.”
To best understand the complexities of such a movement one can follow the progress of this voyage of the HHL Fremantle by taking a look at the video of the movement produced by Hansa and the importance of being able to manage movements such as this is summed up by Commander Guillaume Collin, Head of Logistics Branch for French Navy operations.
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