Precision timing for the jacking and lifting of a 310 tonne patrol vessel was critical because as sailors know – time and tide wait for no man.

This was the challenge facing Vanguard, the specialist heavy lift and abnormal load transport solutions, which had to synchrolift the patrol vessel from the Damen shipyard at the Victoria and Albert Waterfront precinct of Cape Town harbour.

Roland Cummings, project engineer says, “Missing the optimal launch time of 04.30 am on a Friday morning could have meant a 28-day delay before the next opportunity, so there was no lee-way for any hold-ups or errors.”

At over 50 metres long, the vessel was jacked from its cradle at the shipyard and transported by Vanguard’s 22 axle self-propelled modular trailer configuration over a distance of about five kilometres to the port. These self-propelled modular trailer configurations have the capacity to carry over 1,000 tonnes, are well suited for load-in and load-out barging operations and are steered remotely by an experienced operator.

“As the waterfront area has grown and developed, it has become busier and more built up, creating certain challenges for the movement of abnormal loads,” said Cumings, “Having planned meticulously for this project, we were able to guide the remotely-operated trailer without a hitch to the destination.”

After loading the vessel at the shipyard during the Wednesday, it was moved to a holding area that night to accommodate traffic and cause as little disruption as possible. The transporting began mid-morning on the Thursday, and by the afternoon was installed on the bogeys at the synchrolift, ready for the tide in the early hours of the Friday morning. The synchrolift, situated at the Albert Basin, lowered the vessel into the water on a platform with nine pairs of synchronous, steel wire rope winches along the support jetties.

“The five days that our Cape Town branch spent to engineer the solution required by Damen ensured that all specialised equipment was mobilised on time and every detail of the operation was planned,” he said. “It allowed us to confidently meet the strict two-day deadline for this important contract.”
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