Something Heavy This Way Comes ...

Wow! What an exciting week! And through the Magic of the Internet, I've been able to follow all the action from my humble abode in Port Townsend.

•  We have COSCO's Heavy Lift Vessel Xiang Yun Kou en route to Jinhae South Korea, dry docking Shell's wounded Noble Discoverer.

•  We have COSCO's Heavy Lift Vessel Xiang Rui Kou in Dutch Harbor, preparing to receive Shell's wounded drill module Kulluk.
 
But wait! There is more interesting Heavy Lift Vessel news to report!

•  Jumbo's Fairpartner, pictured here with a different load, has just cleared the Port of Osaka Japan (March 19th), en route to Seattle, bearing "Bertha," the worlds largest Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM).

The 7,000 ton TBM, known as the SR (State Route) 99, nicknamed "Bertha," was assembled at Hitachi-Zosen's Sakai works near Osaka, tested, then disassembled for shipment aboard the Fairpartner.

 

The 111.94m (367 ft) long machine was broken down into 41 "packages," and loaded aboard the Fairpartner.The heaviest piece - the Cutter Head - is the heaviest piece at 900 tons.

The Fairpartner's Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) is April 1st. Gads!
For sure we will be keeping track of the progress of Seattle's World Class Tunnel Boring Machine!

Suggested Reading:

•  A Short History of Heavy Lift Vessels
•  Pedestal and Mast Cranes
•  Structural Analysis of a Heavy-Lift Vessel
•  Military Surface Deployment: Rigging Diagrams

Story concludes:  Something Heavy This Way Come ... Conclusion