ACE exports Scotland’s heaviest air cargo
ACE Winches staff recently celebrated the completion of their largest manufacturing contract, worth £4.2m for Houston USA based Superior Energy Services, which was delivered on the world’s largest airplane, the Antonov 225.
ACE Winches has designed and manufactured an electrically driven 8-point mooring spread at its global headquarters based near Turriff, Aberdeenshire. The complete winch package has been designed to be capable of operating in temperatures as low as -45° C. The ABS certified winches are tailored to meet the mooring requirements of the barge, which will be working in extreme water climates in the Arctic.
The Superior Energy Services mooring spread ordered was comprised of four ACE 100 tonne WL electric double drum winches, complete with full variable speed inverter drive; ACE bridge central control and anchor monitoring system combined with ACE Local Controls; unique vertically upward spooling over ACE fixed upper turn down sheaves and ACE sliding travelling fairleads providing a compact deck installation, combined with auxiliary supplies from four ACE electro-hydraulic power units.
The ACE winch package began its voyage from Auchterless, near Turriff. The first shipment of winches weighed 125 tonnes and was delivered on three lorries to Southampton. It was then shipped across the Atlantic Ocean on the vessel Integrity, reaching Baltimore on the East Coast of America. The journey was still not complete, as it had to be driven across America, through hurricane zones, to be safely delivered to its final destination.
The second shipment was required by the client to be delivered ahead of planned schedule. The winch package, also weighing 125 tonnes, was exported by air freight from Glasgow Prestwick Airport on the world’s largest airplane, the Antonov 225. This is the heaviest load ever to be exported by air from Scotland.
Due to the combined weight of the load and aircraft which was an incredible 550 tonnes in total, various stops had to be made to refuel, including Goose Bay in Newfoundland, Labrador in Canada and Minneapolis/St Paul in the USA. The Antonov 225 made its final landing in Moses Lake Airport in Washington, USA before being transported by truck to reach its final destination.
