For the history books

Anyone who encounters this transport cannot help but stop and stare. With a width of 15 metres, a weight of around 300 tonnes and a capacity of approximately 2,300 m³, the LNG tank appears almost surreal as it slowly makes its way through the Finnish countryside. It will later be put into service in the maritime industry, but first it must complete a journey unlike any other in Finland. The spectacular project was carried out by the team of Finnish heavy haulage specialist Vuorsola using a side-by-side combination of two Cometto MSPE self-propelled modular transporters with a total of 36 axle lines.

The high-profile project, which attracted considerable public attention along its 31-kilometre route between Teuva and the Port of Kaskinen, required meticulous planning on multiple levels. „One of the biggest challenges of this transport is the tight schedule. Finland is still experiencing the thawing season. After assessing the ground-bearing capacity, only a limited number of suitable locations are available for fuel stops and breaks“, explains Elina Hassinen, Deputy Managing Director and Transport Manager at Vuorsola. As a result, the transport had to remain in continuous motion along most sections of the route.

This content is blocked by your cookie settings. 🍪

You can change this in the cookie settings or accept and load it for this visit only.

Precision every step of the way

The route itself also demanded the highest level of precision. The electronic steering system of the Cometto SPMTs played a crucial role throughout the operation. „There are several extremely narrow sections along the route. The most critical point is passing a typical Finnish country house“, Hassinen continues. Thanks to precise planning and carefully coordinated manoeuvres by the Vuorsola team, even this bottleneck was negotiated safely with the enormous tank.

The dimensions of the transport required extensive modifications to the infrastructure. With a transport width of 15 metres and a road width of only seven metres, approximately four metres of additional clearance had to be created on each side. An access ramp from Highway 8 was completely rebuilt, while traffic islands and road dividers were prepared to allow the transport to pass over them. Along one coastal section, high-voltage transmission towers stood directly beside the road. As lowering the lines was not an option, a subsea cable was installed as an alternative solution. In addition, the transport height of 14 metres required innovative methods for lifting 110-kV power lines, developed by Vuorsola’s engineering team.

SPMT on public roads

Do you know CosmoPRO?

With this simulation software from Cometto, you can configure complete transport systems – whether hydraulically connected or not – with different dimensions and varying numbers of axle lines. The 3D simulation in CosmoPRO enables easy drag-and-drop positioning of vehicles and guides users through complex configurations. Run stability analyses and visually display bending moments, deflection, and shear stresses in a clear and intuitive way.