On March 28, the transport of components for ORLEN's petrochemical investment project was completed. Two columns were delivered to the site of Poland's largest muti-energy group, a 554-ton concentration tower and a smaller, 286-ton C4 column. The preparation of the logistics plan and its execution was handled by the DSV - Global Transport and Logistics team.
At the beginning of March 2026, two gigantic columns arrived from China at the port of Gdansk, serving as key components of ORLEN's petrochemical investment project. The larger of the two columns was about as tall as a 30-story building and its weight was equivalent to that of 369 average passenger cars.
"On March 2, the vessel carrying the cargo entered the Port of Gdansk, where the columns were transshipped onto barges. By March 15, they had already reached the Vistula quay in Plack. Together, we made the decision to begin the inland waterway stage before the end of the spring thaw period, which was not an obvious solution. We anticipated that the water level in the Vistula could quickly fall below the level required for safe navigation," said Gregorz Samoc, Director of DSV Projects and Industry Solutions in Poland. "As it turned out, we were right: by the end of March, the water level in the Vistula had dropped so much that barges would no longer have been able to complete the voyage."
The decision came at the perfect moment. A delay of just few days would likely have meant that the next transport window would not open for several months, or possibly not until 2027.
"A particularly unique stage of the project was the transshipment of the columns from the barges onto an SPMT platform. For this, we used hydraulic lifts and an unusual skidding transfer technique. To guarantee the safety of this process, it was necessary to properly reinforce the quay. For this purpose, we engaged a team of divers who first cleared the riverbed and then placed sandbags on it. These created an abutment and a support point capable of withstanding the loads, " explained Samoc.
DSV was responsible for preparing the route for transporting the columns, coordinating cooperation and obtaining the necessary permits from the relevant authorities. In accordance with their guidelines and the project requirements, resulting from the nature of the cargo, certain elements of the road infrastructure were modified. Among other measures, vertical road signs were removed and selected road surfaces along the approximately 6-kilometer route were protected with steel and composite mats. All infrastructure elements were restored to their original condition after the transport of the second column was completed. The logistics operator was also responsible for constructing a temporary road that enabled the loads to enter the ORLEN investment site. From the river port to the final destination, the columns were delivered using a specialized self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT) in a 40-axle configuration.
The larger of the two columns was delivered to the factory site on March 22, and the small column arrived on March 27.
