Bigger!

Wind Power Logistics

Bigger!

Marko Niinikari’s team travels all over northern Europe with a fleet of Actros and Arocs weighing up to 250 tonnes. They transport wind turbine components – which are getting bigger and bigger.

Marko Niinikari is a guy with a calm voice and nerves of steel. Behind his trailer, things are getting tight. Very tight. There are only about 20 centimetres between the junction box next to the road and the end of the trailer. Once again, the radio crackles a few words in Finnish. Marko briefly responds, before lifting his foot off the brake pedal. Marko and truck slowly start moving. Marko himself couldn't even see that there was just a hand’s width between the end of the trailer and the obstacle: it's a good 80 metres from the cab to the end of the vehicle.

The radio call came from the van that's driving a short distance behind the trailer. “Communication is key”, says Marko. He keeps the radio in his hand. He's talking about the whole team and especially the navigator behind him, who's steering the trailer’s axles via remote control and making sure that the 83 metre-long truck makes it around the bend unscathed. 

A short sentence from the radio. Marko simply responds with a quick “okay”. His right foot taps on the accelerator and the 463 kW of his 250-tonne Actros L pulls the load forwards at walking pace westwards along the road Bundesstraße 5. "We're almost on the motorway. But before that, we've got to go round two roundabouts."

Wind that blows rain in your face.

The morning before, in the port of Brunsbüttel. The ice-cold wind drives the pouring rain in the team's faces. Marko is surrounded by men wearing hi-vis clothing and safety helmets. They unfold warning signs and fasten safety belts, and orange lights flash all around.

Marko is one of the drivers who has taken the Finnish heavy-duty transport giant Silvasti to the German North Sea coast. The 50‑year‑old from Turku and his colleagues have been based here for several weeks now. Silvasti is transporting wind turbines to their destinations in the western part of Schleswig‑Holstein. The blades alone, which Marko and his driver colleagues Mikko Holm, Toni Henriksson and the other men from the team will be taking to the wind farm construction site tonight, are 67 metres long. They came by ship from China. A total of 18 turbines are being stored here.

The upcoming transportation has already been postponed a few times, but today, the time has come. A port crane lifts the last of the three blades for the wind farm onto the extendable trailer behind Marko’s yellow Actros L. After another 30 minutes, the vehicle combination is ready for departure, which is planned for the evening. The police arrive at the port at 8 p.m. for escort. “Maybe the weather will be better”, says Marko. His laugh suggests he doesn't believe it will be though!

On the motorway at walking pace.

Eleven hours later: after the second roundabout, it’s off northwards at walking pace on motorway 23. The trucks drive around the roundabout in the opposite direction of travel; with such long cargo, nothing else works.

The biggest challenge awaits just before the end: the three trucks have to drive the last few kilometres from the motorway to the wind farm backwards along a gravel road. The navigators have parked their vans in a car park next to the track and are accompanying the trucks on foot. Despite the cold, the remote controls for the trailer axles still work perfectly in the men's hands. Centimetre by centimetre, the truck drives down the narrow path towards the wind farm. It will take another hour yet before it finally reaches its destination. Headlights illuminate the area where the future wind farm will be. After a few discussions, Marko knows where to park the truck. Unloading will take place tomorrow.

“Of course, it's a great feeling when you're journey's complete and the blades have arrived safe and sound", he says. It will take a few more nights yet before all 18 blades arrive at the wind farm though. Only then will the crew be able to return to Finland!

Photos: Sebastian Vollmert
Video: Martin Schneider-Lau