Finland’s largest road transport moves 500-tonne LNG fuel tank from Teuva to Kaskinen

One of Finland’s largest-ever road transports is underway in South Ostrobothnia, where a 500-tonne liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel tank is being moved 30 kilometres from Teuva to the port of Kaskinen, reports Finnish public broadcaster Yle.

The massive cargo, measuring 15 metres wide and 14 metres high, is travelling at a speed of just 1–3 km/h, with the journey expected to last until early Friday morning. The tank, manufactured by West Welding in Teuva, is destined for Meyer Turku shipyard, where it will be installed in the new ICON 5 luxury cruise ship.

Elina Hassinen, deputy managing director of Vuorsola, the special transport company handling the operation, described it as likely the largest road transport ever conducted in Finland and possibly the Nordic region. “Our calculations suggest this is the biggest transport to have moved in Finland, and certainly among the largest in the Nordics,” she said.

The transport requires extensive preparations, including road modifications, removal of traffic signs and lighting, and temporary power outages. A 110-kilovolt power line was lifted by crane at the start of the journey to allow the convoy to pass underneath. The route, primarily along regional road 67, has been planned for nearly a year to minimise disruption to other traffic.

The tank is being moved on two synchronised, remotely controlled self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) with 144 wheels, steered by operators walking alongside. A team of nearly 30 people is managing traffic control and detours during the operation.

West Welding’s project manager Panu Perasto noted that the LNG tank—the largest in the factory’s history—has been a decade in development, with design work beginning long before manufacturing. A second identical tank, also bound for the ICON 5 cruise ship, is under construction in Teuva and will be transported in July.

Perasto expressed pride in the project’s reliance on Finnish expertise. “From design to production, this has been entirely Finnish work,” he said, adding that while technical limits pose challenges, engineers continue to find solutions for even larger future projects.