September 15, 2020 – Construction of the Pelješac bridge continues despite the ongoing pandemic – a monster-sized shipment of bridge segments is currently on its way to Croatia
The Pacific Alert is 160 metres long and 27 metres wide. She set sail from Nantong, China on 10th September. Her cargo? 4000 tons of the Pelješac bridge.
We say 4000 tons, but, that’s a slight exaggeration. The actual weight of the Pelješac bridge pieces she carries is more accurately 3,840 tons. The 13 pieces are heavy construction elements for the bridge and are expected to arrive in Croatian waters on 5th October.
This is the second such heavily loaded ship to set sail for Croatia carrying the Pelješac bridge parts, which have been constructed in China. The first ship with Peljesac bridge segments arrived in February this year, but production in China was thereafter halted due to coronavirus. The recent arrival of 100 Chinese welders who will connect the Peljesac bridge segments, and the resuming of production in China, indicate that the project is back on track despite the ongoing pandemic.
The Peljesac bridge will connect south Dalmatia to the rest of Croatia and will negate crossing the time-consuming Bosnian border to reach Dubrovnik. This will improve southern Croatia’s accessibility to road users. The region of Dubrovnik and Neretva has in 2020 suffered worst from a fall in visitor numbers because it is mostly reliant on charter flights and large cruise ships. The activities of airlines and such ships has been curtailed by coronavirus.
The Pacific Alert is a general cargo ship that was built in 2010 and is sailing under the flag of Cyprus.
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