From 11th to 15th July, Nantes − Saint Nazaire Port’s Louis Joubert sluice dock is the backdrop for some striking new scenes, with the loading of five 400-tonne offshore wind turbine nacelles aboard the Brave Tern, a jack-up vessel operated by the Norwegian shipping line Fred Olsen Wind Carrier. Atlantique Manutention, a company specializing in the handling of heavy-lift cargo consignments, was charged by OCTRA with carrying out the port-based operations. The services of 8 dockers were used for this unconventional operation. They received specific training beforehand for the purposes of the height work and the sling gear work on the nacelles. The ship’s agent services were provided by SOGEBRAS on behalf of Blue Water France. This configuration points to the scale of future activity represented by the construction of the wind farm off the cost of Saint Nazaire by the consortium led by EDF-EN and to the utilization of the logistics hub for the pre-assembly of the offshore wind turbine components by 2020. Currently being developed, the hub will eventually receive 80 nacelles, 240 blades and as many mast sections.
