Vestas Contracts Maersk for Wind Turbine Powertrain Transport

June 18, 2024, by Adnan Memija

Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has awarded its compatriot Maersk a contract for transporting the extra heavy powertrains of its largest ever-built wind turbine V236.

Vestas Maersk — *Source: Maersk; Description: Powertrain Vestas Loading on Barge*

The heart piece of the 15 MW wind turbine weighs 260 tonnes alone and will be installed in the nacelle in Vestas’ factory in Lindø, Denmark.

Maersk will manage the transport of special equipment from the assembly site in Lommel, Belgium via Antwerp to the port of Lindø. The powertrain is one of a number of large components of the nacelle. The final V236 nacelle has a total weight of more than 630 tonnes including the powertrain.

At a later stage, Maersk will also move the V236 powertrains to a new Vestas factory in Poland. Maersk is building a full supply chain solution for all cargo flows inbound manufacturing into both production sites in Denmark and Poland.

Apart from heavy lift transports, Maersk is also taking care of Vestas’ containerized cargo as well as air freight, customs services, intermodal, and warehousing as part of a fully integrated logistics solution on a global scale.

“For more than two years, we have been working for Vestas in a close partnership, developing exciting heavy lift projects as well as normal containerized cargo. We are extremely honoured about being the preferred and trusted partner for Vestas. The transport requires complex logistics capabilities and experience, which makes us even more proud to be selected by the world’s leading renewable energy company,” said Claus Svane Schmidt, Global Head of Maersk Project Logistics.

Vestas installed the V236-15.0 MW prototype at the Østerild National Test Centre for large wind turbines in Western Jutland, Denmark in December 2022.

In August 2023, the prototype set a world record for the most power output by a single wind turbine in 24 hours, producing 363 MWh in that period. At the end of last year, Vestas received a type certificate for its 15 MW wind turbine.