Night time road transport will complete their journey to the final Airbus assembly line at Toulouse.

The Memorandum of Agreement Holyhead has signed with Airbus is expected to develop into a 10 year contract to own and operate the vessel on their behalf. This will commence with the vessel's commissioning in the first quarter of 2004 and build gradually to full production of the huge new 'double decker' aircraft in 2009, when planes will roll from the Toulouse line at the rate of one per week.

Each wing measures 45m long by 12m wide and weighs 200 tonnes. In order to carry them with the transport jig and vehicle, the transport vessel will need to be approximately 57m long with a beam of 15m and a draft of only 1.5m to cope with the shallow waters and shifting banks of the River Dee. An additional constraint is imposed by three low-level bridges at Hawarden and Queensferry, setting an air draft limitation of 4.3m. As the depth of wing and transport jig is approximately 5m, a special lift system will be required to lower the cargo into the vessel.

The Dee Estuary is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) so the vessel will be designed, built and operated so as to take full account of all environmental concerns and also to minimise any potential environmental impact.

It is a tribute to Holyhead Towing's technical and fiscal strength that a relatively small company has been chosen by Airbus to manage such a crucial operation.

Holyhead will be working as an integrated part of the A380 transport team and will be loading and discharging the new vessel and the ro-ro ship using the same low profile transport vehicles deployed by Airbus throughout their system.

MJ Information No: 17817