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Oversized cargo is cargo which dimensions exceed the standards established during transportation. For this reason, the transportation of such goods is a complex task, which can only be solved by an integrated approach of specialists.

In this article we will talk about the top 5 most difficult to transport oversized cargo.

5. Residential houses and historical buildings

Transportation in this category is required for many reasons. It can be a natural disaster, moving to a new place, or preserving an architectural monument. Transportation of finished structures is carried out as a whole or disassembled by trawl. For some countries, take, for example, the United States, the transportation of houses is a common thing, for which its own mechanism has already been worked out, and this is a rather profitable business. Transportation of historical buildings is also not uncommon. One recent case is the relocation of the lighthouse Rubjerg Knude (1899) in Denmark, which was threatened with collapse due to soil erosion.

4. Equipment for the oil and gas industry

When transporting oil and gas equipment, it is necessary to take into account not only the oversized cargo and heavy weight. Often this kind of equipment contains fragile parts such as electronic devices, sensors, monitors, and other built-in mechanisms. Improper transportation can cause damage to these parts, which will eventually lead to the failure of the entire equipment. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly control both the transport vehicle itself and the roadbed along the route, cargo securing, and even the professional qualities of the driver himself. In the international experience of deliveries of oil and gas equipment, a successful example is the transportation of reactors for the Achinsk refinery by the carrier Spetstyazhavtotrans in 2013. The parties to the order were nominated for the Guinness Book of Records: the Book's editor-in-chief set a record for the heaviest cargo (1,306 tons) transported by road over the longest distance on land (203 km).

3. Heavy industrial equipment for refineries and steel mills

Heavy industrial equipment is a special case in logistics, since neither the weight, sometimes reaching hundreds of tons, nor the size and constitution meet the standards. These loads cannot be handled by an ordinary trailer truck. In such "oversized" cases, specialists use multi-support platforms - small multi-wheel modules on solid tires. By docking with each other, these elements can form a special trailer of any width and length (in theory). Of course, with such a load, transport will not be able to go fast: in some sections of the route, the speed does not exceed walking speed. To prevent overheating, such designs provide for the presence of a powerful cooling system in the transmission.

2. Transportation of rockets

The most complex maintenance equipment of huge dimensions was necessary for the Scalpel rockets: the weight of the special container in which it was transported (25 tons) was added to the dead weight of the rocket (104 tons) to maintain the desired microclimate. In addition to everything else, it was necessary to comply with difficult safety conditions, because the rocket was transported in a refueled state in a special isothermal car made to fit its dimensions.

1. Super tractors

The first place in our rating is occupied by unique transportation, which took place in the summer of 1996. A certain commercial company purchased a 40-meter pleasure boat weighing 88 tons, from which they planned to make a floating restaurant on Naroch. But here's the bad luck: the boat is on the Berezina, and it does not connect with Lake Naroch in any way. Future restaurateurs managed to agree on the implementation of the transportation of this boat by tractor-transporters MAZ-7907, although initially they were supposed to transport intercontinental missiles. The speed of the conveyor was approximately 5-10 km/h. The journey of 200 km covered almost five days. We added this transportation to the top list due to the uniqueness of the idea: at that time there was no such equipment anywhere in the world, and the creativity of engineers and non-standard thinking together led to such an unusual solution.

As Alliance Logistics, we have extensive experience in the transportation of oversized cargo and provide reliable services in this field.

The world-famous Guinness Book of Records captures the most unusual facts from different spheres of life. Logistics is no exception, especially considering the scale of logistics transportation today.

Heaviest load

The Norwegian gas production platform with the symbolic name "Troll-A" is the largest and heaviest object on the planet, created by humans, officially listed in the Guinness Book of Records. The total height of Troll-A is 472 meters, weight with ballast is 1.2 million tons. The platform stands on four support legs, and the total height of each is 369 meters, which exceeds the height of the Eiffel Tower. By the way, for movement in the support legs, there is an elevator, the rise of which takes as much as 9 minutes.

Largest Tractor Truck

The honorary title of the largest tractor truck, recognized as such by the Guinness Book of Records, was awarded to the car of the French concern Nicolas Tractomas TR 10X10 D100. The gross weight with ballast is 71 tons. Nicolas can pull a road train weighing up to 700 tons. The price for such an acquisition is also appropriate - the cost of one such tractor is 800,000 euros. A total of 5 units of this equipment were produced.

Largest container ship

Ever Alot, the largest container ship is the first of its kind with a capacity of 24,000 TEU, designed in Shanghai by China's Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group. The length of the vessel is 399.9 m, its width is 61.5 m, and the deck area is 24 thousand square meters, about three and a half football fields. The vessel is intended for service on the Far East-Europe route.

Largest Port

The Shanghai port tops the list of the world's busiest ports, having inherited the title of the world's largest in 2019 from its Singaporean counterpart. Located in the People's Republic of China, in the city of Shanghai, this port also has the fastest growing economy with a cargo turnover of 43 million TEU. The favorable geographical position of the port allows for receiving both deep sea and river vessels. Basically, it handles bulk shipments of coal, metal ores, petroleum and its derivatives, steel, machinery, and construction equipment.