Projects FPS ' a division of FPS Sri Lanka, one of the country's leading project forwarders' ' has handled the urgent shipment of six giant wind turbines from India, to a site 200km inland from the port of Colombo.

The shipment - for Naladanavi Pvt Ltd, the largest private sector power supplier in Sri Lanka -' comprised 41 pieces, with a total weight of 784 tonnes and volume of 5656 cu m. The six pylon base sections each weighed 33 tonnes.

State-of-the-art heavylift vessel Han Xin, with on-board crane capacity of 200 tonnes, was chartered from Chennai, loading at 09:00hrs on March 27th. Projects FPS Head of Perorations Travis Meerwald and Projects Manager Mohan Lazarus visited Chennai three times over a 10-day period, to supervise all details and then ensure a smooth loading operation, working in close partnership with fellow FPS Group member in India, LCL Logistix.

On arrival in Colombo, the pylon sections were transferred onto special extending trailers for the tortuous journey over twisting roads and narrow bridges to their final destination. FPS trucks operated convoys for six consecutive nights, to minimise traffic disruption. The shipment required 30 truck journeys, and the final piece was unloaded on site at 15:00hrs on April 12th.

When assembled, the six wind turbine generators will each measure 95m in height, and generate 0.85 megawatts of electricity.

Explains Gihan Nanayakkara, Chairman of FPS Sri Lanka and Projects FPS: 'We had to deliver to site before the Sri Lankan National New Year. Our priority was quality and reliability over price.

'The Shipper, Gamesa India, was extremely supportive in ensuring the Cargo was under the hook with no idle time. On arrival of the vessel at berth in the Port of Colombo, our fleet was on stand-by to commence the nightly convoys with full escorts.'

He concludes: 'We completed the project with zero demurrage, no truck detention and ahead of schedule, without a single scratch to the cargo. I would like to thank everyone involved for a fantastic display of team work.'

Wind power is a major focus of the Sri Lankan Government, as a means of providing for the country's fast-growing energy needs; many further similar shipments are therefore expected in the future.

FPS Sri Lanka is a founder member of the FPS Group network of independent forwarders and NVOCCs. FPS Sri Lanka Chairman Gihan Nanayakkara is also current Chairman of the Group's Advisory Board.