1. p network update
in the cargo
mission not
photo: freight forWArder
impossible
A Boeing television commercial asserts to add a transportation skid under the mold to
doing the impossible is one of the things the make the structure stiffer to avoid stress and
plane-maker does best. It is a tradition shared possible structural deformation.”
by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, which Robbert noted that the skid almost
showed its ability to do just that by shipping doubled the weight of the cargo to 72 tonnes.
huge wing molds for Boeing’s stunning new In addition, the skid was smaller than the mold
787 Dreamliner from the USA to Japan. and could not be lifted by cranes together
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, scheduled to with the mold on top.
take to the skies in service in 2008, has been ”It was clear to us that RoRo operation on
designed to be the most innovative commer- 80 foot mafis with under-deck stowage was a
cial plane ever made by the plane-maker. better alternative than handling the molds with
cranes on a conventional break-bulk vessel.
the single lArgest part of the Dream- So we proposed to jack-up, or lift, the skid and
liner, which has a radically lightweight design, mold as one unit with hydraulics and then lower
is the aircraft’s carbon fibre wing – which it on the 25-metre-long WWL mafi trailer.”
is where WWL enters The size of the mold
the picture. One Boeing “it was clear to us also meant that it was
sub-contractor makes the
Dreamliner’s wing molds
that roro opera- not possible to load them
on to the same vessel.
in Rockford, Illinois. The tion on 80-foot ma- Manoeuvring them safely
two giant metal molds, fis with under-deck on board also placed huge
used in making the
composite aircraft wings,
stowage was a demands on the skill of
WWL’s deck crews. On
measure an amazing better alternative.” one of the vessels, Mad-
30 metres in length, 6.5 ame Butterfly, there was
metres wide and 2 metres high. less than one metre of free space between the
The molds were first taken from the fac- sides of the mold and the vessel’s structure.
tory by specialist truck to the WWL berth in
the port of Tacoma, a journey of about two the molds Will be built in Irvine, California,
weeks due to restrictions and permitted times and WWL’s local team are working with vari-
of moving in different states. ous parties to load them from WWL’s facility
”Due to the size of these molds few ves- in Port Hueneme to Japan, starting in April
sels can handle this cargo either as lift on/lift 2007. Why make WWL a preferred partner?
off or as RoRo cargo,” says Robbert van Pelt, A spokesperson for the client said: “We have
from Region Americas Trade department in always found WWL to be professional and
Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. cooperative with good ships, good service,
”An added complication was that prior to good schedules and many trade lanes.”
the movement of the first mold, it was decided susAnnA W. Ahlfors
p factS
the boeing dreamliner is a family of three airplanes
providing up to 330 passengers with a better flying
experience on journeys as far as 1,000 kilometres,
using 20 percent less fuel than today’s planes of
comparable size.
VENTURE 1 2007

2. Special, ultra-careful
handling was needed
to transport the huge
wing mold used to
help give the boeing
dreamliner its eye-
catching shape.
VENTURE 1 2007