“The Rhenus Group views itself as a partner for the wind power sector. This applies to its logistics requirements, both for its offshore and onshore business,” Tobias König, Managing Director of Rhenus Project Logistics, emphasises. The company, which was launched at the beginning of last year, provides the relevant expertise for organising international logistics chains in its capacity as a specialist for project business. “We can rely on the global network of business centres within the corporate group and make use of the port and shipping capacity that we have,” Tobias König continued.
Rhenus selected its Cuxport terminal as the transhipment centre for the maritime shipment, which left the Chinese port city of Qinhuangdao on 28 August and made its way round the Cape of Good Hope. This was Cuxport’s largest single order to tranship rotor blades so far; the terminal operator provided temporary storage for the units and sorted the sets consisting of three blades prior to their onward shipment.
The port in the German state of Lower Saxony, which is the most easterly in the North Sea, provides short distances to the destinations, the onshore wind parks. “The geographical location of the port is not the only advantage; it has lock-free access to the North Sea for sea-going vessels and it also has tri-modal transport links,” says Roland Schneider, who is responsible for business development at Cuxport.
The rotor blades, which were then shipped by truck, made their way directly to the motorway via the special heavy-duty roadway. Other rotor blades are being transported to their recipients on board coastal vessels.