TRIESTE – The first shipment of wind turbine blades bound for energy parks in central Europe left the port of Koper yesterday at 10 p.m.
The transport marked the start of a complex logistics operation that will continue over the coming weeks. The first convoy involved three exceptional trucks, each carrying blades up to 87 metres long, dimensions that required extraordinary measures along the entire route.
The length of the loads made an out-of-the-ordinary operation necessary: the vehicles left the port through a temporary exit onto the northern bypass, located next to the passenger terminal. From there, they continued past the port’s main entrance along Ankaranska cesta and the access road to Bertoki, before joining the motorway towards Ljubljana. This is a temporary solution, adopted pending the construction of a direct and permanent link between the Sermin port area and the motorway network. The infrastructure upgrade is considered strategic for handling increasingly frequent exceptional cargoes more efficiently.
The wind turbine blades are bound for Austria, where they will be installed as part of a repowering programme involving seven wind farms. The first shipment, which arrived in Koper in March, includes components for seven plants, each equipped with three blades. A second vessel carrying further turbines is expected in port in May, confirming the Slovenian port’s growing role in traffic linked to the energy transition.
The entire transport operation is being managed by the specialist company Prangl. A total of 14 exceptional transports are planned for the transfer of the blades alone, with departures scheduled every Monday evening at 10 p.m., except for 27 April, when the schedule will be suspended because of holiday-related restrictions.
The convoy route runs along the Port–Bertoki–Obrežje corridor, before continuing towards Austria through several alternative corridors. Because of modernization works between Ljubljana and Maribor, the transports may divert through Croatia via Gruškovje or transit through Hungary via Pince, before re-entering Slovenia and continuing to the Šentilj border crossing.
Despite the exceptional nature of the vehicles, road traffic will remain open: the convoys will travel at around 60 kilometres per hour and may be overtaken by other vehicles, although with due caution.