OREANDA-NEWS. September 17, 2012. Loading of two carrier rockets was completed at the ro-ro terminal of JSC “Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg" for their further shipment to Guiana Space Centre (French Guiana).

 Containers with full sets of modernized carrier rockets “Soyuz-ST” were reloaded from railway to roll-trailers and then via slip 37 were delivered to the vessel “MN Colibri”. Reloading was carried out with the help of gantry cranes of 40 tons hoisting capacity. 

 It was the fifth lot of equipment for Kourou Space Centre handled at the terminals of JSC “Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg” in the framework of intergovernmental agreement between Russia and France on long-term cooperation in the sphere of development, construction and operation of carrier rockets. 

Specialists of the company have handled oversized and heavy cargoes on a regular basis. JSC “Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg” possesses various mechanisms capable of handling cargoes with the weight up to 300 tons, up-to-date rail infrastructure capable of handling any types of railway transporters, as well as vast storage areas for accommodation of voluminous cargo lots.

For your reference: JSC “Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg” (part of UCL Port, stevedoring division of the international transport group UCL Holding) – the largest operator rendering services on handling of all dry cargoes in the Greater Port of Saint-Petersburg. It operates modern terminals specializing in handling of ro-ro cargoes, automobiles, metals. In 2011 JSC “Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg” committed 58.5 mln rbls to environmental actions. 

The Guiana Space Centre or Kourou spaceport is located in French Guiana (South America) within 50 km from the city of Kayena on the Atlantic coast. The Centre is specialized in launching of geostationary satellites. Russia’s interest in Kourou spaceport is connected with its equatorial location: modernized Russian rocket “Soyuz-ST” can place into orbit much heavier spacecrafts than those launched from Baikonur and Plisetsk sites.