On 10 October
2017, the last shipment of steel line-pipes for the construction of the Trans
Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) arrived in Thessaloniki, Greece, marking the completion
and final delivery of all line-pipes to TAP’s host countries.
The transport of 55,000 TAP pipes and bends was completed in approximately one
year and a half. The first pipes arrived in Durrës,
Albania in April 2016 and deliveries to Greecestarted one month later, in May 2016.
Approximately 55,000 pipes are used to build TAP (32,000 in Greece; 13,000 in Albania; 9,150 offshore and 670 in Italy)
The weight of all pipes amounts to 520,000 tonnes: or approximately 71 Eiffel towers.
The weight of a single 18-metre pipe ranges from 9.3 tonnes to 16.3 tonnes, depending on the wall thickness.
The pipes were transported to TAP’s main marshalling yards in 79 sea vessel shipments of various sizes and 158 block trains within Greece. The offloading of the largest ships took five days on average.
The pipes were manufactured by Corinth Pipeworks (Greece) and Salzgitter Mannesmann International (Germany).
John Haynes, TAP Project Director, noted: "This is yet another key milestone towards successful
realisation of the project. The entire logistics delivery process was carried
out in line with the project schedule and to the highest safety standards.
Considering that each pipe has been lifted approximately seven times from
production at the mills until reaching our main marshalling yards, we are proud
that this massive operation has been completed without any safety incidents
within our host countries. I would like to thank our contractors and
sub-contractors responsible for shipping, offloading and transporting TAP pipes
for their professionalism, hard work and commitment to safety.”
From the main marshalling yards, the pipes are transported further to the local
pipe yards near the construction sites, along the pipeline route.
