deugro has recently completed a complex logistical operation involving the transportation of 54 kilometres of HVAC cables for the Turkish Crossing Project.

Working in partnership with Prysmian Powerlink, deugro Italy and deugro Chartering coordinated the delivery of 3,300 metric tons of cables from the manufacturing facility in Pikkala, Finland, to a cable-laying vessel in the Dardanelles Strait, Turkey. The operation was time-critical, requiring precise coordination to meet the vessel’s arrival schedule.

deugro provided a comprehensive solution, encompassing tank engineering, installation, and spooling, in addition to ocean transportation. A suitable heavy lift vessel, the BBC Xingang, was chartered to meet the specific requirements of the project.

To ensure the safe transportation of 3,300 metric tons of HVAC cables from Finland to Turkey, deugro undertook extensive modifications to the chartered heavy lift vessel, BBC Xingang. This included installing specialised static tanks and converting the vessel’s bow section at the Port of Bremerhaven, Germany, to accommodate the cables.

The project required meticulous planning and execution, with the vessel’s readiness coinciding with the availability of cables at the Prysmian factory in Pikkala, Finland. Loading operations were conducted under strict supervision to guarantee the safe handling of this critical cargo.

In Pikkala, the loading operations were executed under the constant supervision of and testing by the client, deugro, dteq Transport Engineering Solutions and the vessel’s team.

“The project team encountered harsh weather conditions and surface ice, and had to deal with the fairly long distance from the ship’s anchor position to shore. This required a perfectly aligned mooring system and constant monitoring,” said Francesco Pignati, deugro Milan, Italy.

Within a week, the cables were successfully spooled into the custom-designed tanks and the BBC Xingang arrived at the Port of Hydarpaşa in Turkey according to plan, punctually meeting the installation vessel so that the unspooling operations could be carried out as planned. After delivery, the BBC Xingang sailed to the Port of Naples, Italy, for the demobilisation of the spooling equipment.

“Due to the critical urgency—the cable needed to be quickly delivered in order to commence installation and keep the overall cost of the project to a minimum—scheduling, precise preparation and smooth project execution were paramount. Thanks to the professional collaboration of all partners, the tight schedule and demanding project requirements were met, and the urgent cables were delivered on time—keeping the cable-laying operations of the Turkish Crossing Project on track,” said Stefano Sortino, deugro Milan, Italy.