Walvis Port receives world’s largest tyres

Woker Freight Services was contracted to deal with the transshipment of the worlds’ largest tyres, which are typical of huge mining vehicles. 102 Tyres with a width of 1,481mm and a diameter of 3,845mm were shipped in open-top containers from Houston, Texas by a Maersk vessel. Each tyre weighed 4 900kg and was carefully offloaded at the port of Walvis Bay.
“The normal pole through the centre method would not work on these heavy tyres. A special method of hoisting was used to ensure that the tyres were not damaged. Lifting the tyres in the wrong way shortens its lifespan considerably,” said Annerie Kruger of Woker Freight Services.
Special arrangements and permits were also required due to the size of the tyres. The consignment of tyres was transported via road to the Lumwana Mine in Zambia. Only six tyres could be transported per truckload.
“This was an unusual but an exciting project all the same. Woker Freight Services 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 to 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,” Kruger said.