Record breaking transport in India

NEW DELHI : Starting in August 2022 Prism Logistics, one of India’s biggest project logistics companies, performed a record-breaking and unique transportation project up and until July 2023. The project involved transporting columns and reactors from Hazira, Dahej and Mangalore to Pachpadra in the Indian federal state Rajasthan.

With maximum dimensions of 55 m in length, and almost 10 m in width and height, and a weight of approx. 750 t, a total of 34 over-dimensional cargoes had to be transported over a distance of 600 km. In total, 12,582 t were moved. Prism had to prepare and organize the job with the corresponding thoroughness. Approximately 1,100 axle lines as well as more than 115 SPMTs were utilized in the transportation process. Over 50% of them were Goldhofer axles.

The transportation process involved shipping the cargoes from Hazira, Dahej, and Mangalore by sea to Mundra. For the first time ever in India, Prism used the possibility of side-loading and side-unloading the cargoes with the help of Goldhofer’s self-propelled PST modules. The extreme precision and maneuverability provided made it possible to handle the complicated task in confined spaces.

Starting in December 2022, the cargo left Mundra port in seven convoys to Rajasthan Refinery, a refinery-cum-petrochemical complex in Barmer (Rajasthan). Subsequently, Prism faced the challenging task of covering the 600 km by road from Mundra to Barmer. Along this route, the dedicated teams encountered five railway level crossings in Gujarat and one in Rajasthan. To facilitate the smooth passage of the convoys, Prism had to coordinate with Indian Railways, obtain the necessary permits, and temporarily close the route at the level crossings. Prism also needed to obtain permits well in advance for the electric shutdown of numerous high-tension wires. In addition to that, the power of more than 1,000 regular electricity lines had to be shut down for the convoys to cross. Entire road furniture had to be removed – poles, culverts to be filled, welcome boards, city navigation boards, electric wires, small structures over the highway – but Prism’s skilled technicians were able to immediately resolve any issues that arose during the journey.

Prism’s biggest challenge came when crossing the Narmada River Canal. Narmada River delivers water to the state of Rajasthan from the state of Gujarat. Liaison at the political level between two states was needed to get an official permit from the Rajasthan state authorities to stop the water flow for 15 days. Then two steel bridges with a capacity of 1,500 t each had to be constructed in record time and parallel to Prism’s road transport team working to get the convoys up to the canal.

Another challenge was posed by a 135 km single-lane road from Gudamalani to Balotra. With a convoy spanning over 2 km in length, regular traffic was massively affected, and Prism’s teams had to undertake to cover the route as quickly as possible. Last but not least, Prism crossed the Luni River at Balotra by constructing a major bypass next to the road bridge.

All 34 over-dimensional cargoes reached their goal in Barmer (Rajasthan) safely and in the record time of 364 days. A team of more than 400 professionals, including civil engineers, mechanical engineers, marine engineers, and naval architects, was dedicated to designing solutions for this project, which is not only significant in the history of logistics in India but was also beneficial in terms of infrastructure and employment.

“We are honored that Prism Logistics, one of the largest project logistics companies in India, has chosen to rely primarily on Goldhofer’s transportation solutions for this record-breaking milestone in heavy haulage history,” says Jean-Philippe Martin, Director of Sales International Business at Goldhofer. “Our primary goal is to establish a partnership with our valued customers that is based on reliability and innovation. We are successful when our customers are, and we therefore congratulate Prism Logistics on the impressive completion of the project.”

Prism Logistics was also a winner in the prestigious Goldhofer-sponsored category “Overland Transport Provider of the Year” at the Heavy Lift Awards 2023. Their winning entry wowed the judges with the enormity of the project, the sizes of the cargoes and the distances covered, overcoming several obstacles and challenges to ensure success.