Under the contract between Izhorskiye Zavody and Infotech Baltika the latter accomplished transportation of the first pressure vessel of VVER-1000 reactor for the second phase of Tianwan NPP (China) in autumn, 2014. A specialized transporter took the oversize cargo to the quay in Ust-Slavyansk (Leningrad Oblast), where it was loaded on a barge and delivered to Saint-Petersburg Port to be shipped to China.
It was troublesome to ship the RPV because of its dimensions. The route of the loaded special transporter from Izhorskiye Zavody facility to the cargo berth twice crossed the Oktyabrskaya railway tracks. Therefore, railway traffic at these sections (Moscow and Murmansk directions) was brought to a complete standstill for several hours. Overhead system wires were hoisted by special gear to allow the outsized freight under them. Then the item was reloaded on the barge and delivered to Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg to be shipped to the Client in China.
Within the contract signed in 2010 Izhorskiye Zavody is to produce the primary coolant equipment with VVER-1000 reactor unit for Tianwan NPP third and fourth units. Earlier in spring, 2014 Izhorskiye Zavody had completed manufacturing and provided the Client with the set of four steam generator vessels for the third unit of Tianwan NPP (China).
Izhorskiye Zavody was responsible for production and packaged supply of the primary coolant equipment for NPP first and second units. The first and second units were started up in 2007. Tianwan NPP was built as per the improved Russian design and, according to the majority of experts, is one of the safest among the operating nuclear power stations in the world.
In December 2014 Tianwan nuclear power plant received another cargo: in compliance with the contract with AtomStroyExport INCOTEC CARGO shipped 1,190 freight tons of out-of-gauge equipment for construction of the third and fourth units within Tianwan NPP second phase.
M/v HUANGHAI STRUGGLER accommodated a total shipload of 49 equipment units. They included extra heavy loads: 332-ton reactor pressure vessel and two steam generators, weighing 318 tons each.
Oversize units were loaded on the vessel by Demag floating crane. Its loading plan involved three consequent trips with a single heavy unit from the quay where it was stored to the vessel’s board. At first, the heavy item was placed on the floating crane pontoon. Then the crane sailed to the ship and stayed bow-to-stern. The cargo was loaded on the ship, and the crane returned to the quay to handle the next unit.
Floating crane Demag worked in strict compliance with the Maritime Administration schedule which depends on daily traffic plan for freight and passenger ships in Saint-Petersburg port area. Gantry cranes loaded the m/v with the rest of equipment. The vessel was loaded at the 23rd quay of Saint-Petersburg Port.
Outsized steam generators were produced by Machine-Building Plant ZiO-Podolsk by order of AtomStroyExport. They arrived at Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg on the 28-axle articulated transporters with the lifting capacity of 400 tons. The transport vehicles had an individual locomotive and consisted of 13 units, including the control frame. Design feature of this type of vehicles allows placing the transported load on the special platform consisting of mounting groups and a frame coupler, so that the whole unit (with a total weight over 370 tons) is held between the two sections of the transporter.
The transport mounting groups secure the steam generator between the transporter sections, which are interconnected by the frame coupler based under the steam generator bottom and, among other things, designed for supporting the cargo. By means of floating crane Demag and transporter hydraulic system the steam generator was lifted, metal separators placed under the frame coupler, and the whole structure put on the rigid foundation to reduce the load on fittings. The shafts connecting the loaded platform and two transporter sections were unscrewed and the sections separated.
Then the gantry cranes removed the mounting groups and installed the steam generator on transport frames built by INCOTEC CARGO in advance at the manufacturer’s request. The frames were fixed, the cargo moved onto the floating crane pontoon, delivered and unloaded in the storage area on a special steel structure to meet the load carrying capacity of the quay. On average, it took more than 10 hours to handle the steam generator starting from preparations and ending with discharging.
The operation involved the floating crane Demag, two gantry cranes, loaders of different lifting capacities, dockside worker team, floating crane crew, port process engineers, frame installation and fastening team, oxygen cutters and transporter escort group. INCOTEC CARGO specialists exercised overall control and ensured interaction of all the parties.
This is not the first shipment for Taiwan NPP-2 under the contract between INCOTEC CARGO and AtomStroyExport. 1,800 freight tons of oversize equipment had been supplied to the Chinese nuclear power plant in 2013-2014.