2800t bridge sections delivered to Norway

The company’s heavy lift vessel MV Trina (Type 176) was appointed to support the construction of the 580m long bridge by shipping twelve bridge sections from Nantong, China to Malm, Norway. All twelve sections weigh a total of 2800t, with the heaviest unit weighing 426t and the longest unit measuring 327t.

“It only took us 35 days to directly sail to Malm from Nantong in China,” Sune Thorleifsson, head of projects at SAL, explained, adding “despite the unique conditions in the port of Malm, with an only 20 m wide jetty and 2 m tidal range, it took just 6 days until we were able to successfully and smoothly deliver 20.668 cbm of cargo to our client.”

Specialist treatment

With a total of four single lifts and eight tandem lifts, the SAL experts were able to stow all twelve bridge sections in two layers under deck, and another layer on deck of the vessel.

Due to local port regulations all twelve bridge sections were directly discharged onto SPMT’s, 25 m away from alongside the vessel. A tailor-made mooring arrangement contributed to the success of the discharging operations.

The bridge segments were then transported to Fosdalen-Industrier AS`s assembly site. Installation works are planned to start around March/April.

The Beitstadsundbrua bridge will connect the municipalities of Steinkjer and Malm, crossing the Beitstadfjorden. It is being built to increase road safety and accessibility, plus cut down travel times to reduce emissions.

By Rebecca Jeffrey