Terra Marique breaks more records as she delivers multiple loads on the River Dee
Robert Wynn and Sons Ltd. have again been breaking new ground delivering multiple project cargoes via the River Dee to Shotton in Flintshire, North Wales.
Their unique heavy lift ro/ro barge Terra Marique has become the largest commercial vessel to transit the river Dee to Shotton through the iconic Flintshire Bridge in well over 2 decades,
In an operation that has been nearly 12 months in the planning the 80m x 16.5m barge, specifically designed to operate on inland waterways and offload without the need for significant onsite infrastructure, has successfully carried out 2 consecutive transits of the River Dee. Loading at the Port of Mostyn and offloading at the Mid-Way Berth constructed at the Corus Jetty, Shotton – the adjacent Shotton Mill site being the precious cargoes final destination.
6 pieces, all carried by the Terra Marique earlier inthe year in two shipments from Portland Port, were carried with a combined weight of 564te. The cargo was loaded at Mostyn onto a combination of specialist transport provider Allelys’s conventional trailers and SPMT’s for the transit down the Dee, and rolled off in an operation that took less than 60 minutes to complete. The timings on this project were critical as tidal flows on the fast-flowing River Dee restricted offloading windows to less than 90 minutes.
Working for Allelys Robert Wynn and Son’s engineers and crew lead a bespoke team assembled for their expertise and knowledge of the River Dee.
Robert Wynn & Sons Managing Director, Peter Wynn coordinated the operation and commented: “While the Terra Marique is purpose built for such operations, there are several factors unique to this project that has meant that detailed planning and collective working was required to successfully carry out such a complex operation.
Our engineers, crew and those from Allelys, Marland Marine, Jenkins Marine, Natural Resources Wales, Port of Mostyn and the Dee Conservancy all worked tirelessly together to ensure this project was delivered as planned.
These loads have been delivered to site without the need to travel on the public highway. Removing any inconvenience, economic or environmental cost to those locally in Flintshire. The Terra Marique has again proven that with careful planning, a willing client and navigation authority that many of the UK inland waterways can provide a viable and sustainable alternative to road transport for the largest and heaviest abnormal indivisible loads”.
Cargo reloaded at the Port of Mostyn
Passing under the iconic Flintshire Bridge
Rolling off for direct delivery to Tata Steel's Shotton Works
