- The carriages, each weighing 34–42 tonnes, have been shipped as part of two operations completed in March and April, with four more pending until August
BERGÉ and the Port of Tarragona have joined forces in two complex operations for the shipping of metro carriages to Singapore. As such, they are playing a key role in expanding and improving one of the main forms of public transport in the Southeast Asian country.
The first two operations were completed between March and early April, with at least four more similar operations expected to be carried out before August. Each 3-carriage train was manufactured in Santa Perpetua de la Mogoda (Barcelona).
The operations have been strategised and planned jointly between the manufacturer, the road haulage operator, the shipping company EUKOR and the stevedoring company BERGÉ.
These operations are complex given the size and weight of the carriages, each 23 metres tall and weighing 34–42 tonnes, thus requiring expert staff. Once inside the port area, having arrived on a special truck, a horizontal load transfer takes place from the trailer directly to a roll trailer via a temporary connection. Railway manufacturers prefer horizontal load transfers without the use of cranes, as they are much more secure and carry less risk of damage to the load.
In this first phase of operations, BERGÉ, the stevedoring company overseeing the operations, takes care of lashing the carriages to each roll trailer to ensure they remain secure until reaching their final destination in Singapore.
As soon as the ship from EUKOR (part of the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Group) is berthed at the dock, BERGÉ starts loading the roll trailers on board in a carefully planned order. Another key stage is the lashing of the roll trailers themselves to the hull of the ship, which ensures that goods (in this case, the metro carriages) do not move at all in the event of bad weather and that they arrive in perfect condition at the Port of Singapore.
BERGÉ already has experience as an operating and stevedoring agent in metro and train projects, having been involved in similar shipping operations to Chile, the Philippines, Panama and Australia, mainly from the Port of Santander.