Minister welcomes ground breaking maiden voyage
This week has seen the ground breaking maiden voyage of the Inland Navigator. The vessel successfully carried a 285 tonne 'abnormal load' from the Humber Estuary to Staythorpe on the river Trent. In doing so it sailed 60 miles inland, further than any vessel carrying a load of this size has managed to date. Shipping Minister David Jamieson, whose Department funded the purchase and conversion of the vessel, welcomed its maiden voyage and the road disruption it avoided. Abnormal loads being delivered to National Grid Transco's Staythorpe Substation would normally have been transported around 70 miles on the road network, travelling at speeds of between 5 and 12 miles an hour and causing disruption to other road-users over a three-day period. In this instance, use of the river Trent has meant that all but 1 mile of road movement is avoided.
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