World's Largest Tyres Offloaded in African Port

102 of the world's largest tyres were handled in the port of Walvis Bay, Namibia recently, transhipped to mine

Woker Freight Services (WFS) was contracted to deal with the trans-shipment of these 'monsters', designed to handle the toughest of mining work. Each tyre weighs nearly five tonnes; is about 1,5 metres wide, and has a diametre of about 3,8 metres.

They were shipped in open-top containers from Houston, Texas in the United States aboard a Maersk vessel, and were carefully offloaded at the harbour, from where the consignment was transported via road to the Lumwana Mine in Zambia. Only six tyres could be transported per truckload.

"The normal pole through the centre method would not work on these heavy tyres. A special method of hoisting was used to ensure that they were not damaged. Lifting the them in the wrong way shortens its lifespan considerably," said Annerie Kruger of WFS.

Special arrangements and permits were also required due to the size of the tyres.

"This was an unusual but an exciting project all the same. WFS dealt with the clearing and forwarding processes, the de-stuffing of the container, loading the trucks and the transport to the mine. We also arranged escorts in accordance with the abnormal load requirements. This project was carried out successfully, and simply proves that WFS can handle any type of freight cargo, no matter how large or sensitive it may be," said Kruger.