How to transport shepherds huts internationally
Hej from Sweden!
We’ve made two exciting trips across the North Sea over the last month, seamlessly delivering two shepherds huts to a Swedish theme park.
Although we have experience of international transport, Sweden wasn’t yet on our list. When asked at the end of 2022 if we would be willing to transport two shepherd huts to a new and exciting theme park, we jumped at the opportunity.
Planning the transportation
Crane Away covered all aspects of the route planning. This started with analysing the load. The shipment, two 24’ x 10ft cabins would need to be transported separately, meaning two trips. Also, given the width of the shipment, it fell into the category of an abnormal load. We had to make sure that not only were we fulfilling the UK regulations on abnormal load transportation, we were also doing the same in Sweden.
We researched the necessary permits and made sure they were applied for in good time. We also fitted the lorry with ‘Bred Last’ signage which is the Swedish version of ‘wide load’. Marker boards were fitted along with flashing beacons. We then proceeded to make the ferry bookings. Victor Treacy International took on this task for us, and, once again, their service was fantastic. We were booked on the most efficient ferry crossing, a cargo ship sailing from Immingham to Gothenburg. Whilst this is predominantly a cargo ship, it does have the capacity to take a handful of manned loads and has cabins for up to 12 drivers.
Finally, we applied for the UK movement order, via an online system that we use to notify the police in every county we pass through of our intention to travel with an abnormal load.
From Dorset to Sweden
We collected the first hut from Dorset. Although we were travelling to another country, the largest portion of our drive time was going to be in the UK.
Our ferry was due to depart from Immingham at 5am the following day, so we had to make sure that we were there in good time to check in, while also making sure that we were not in breach of the movement order which prohibits the transport of wide loads on many roads during the hours of darkness.
Getting to Immingham with plenty of time, we gave the load a final check to make sure we were satisfied with the lashings used to withstand a bumpy sea crossing. We left the chaining down to the crew and found our cabin where we would be spending the next 26 hours.
After what can be described as a fairly rocky crossing, we pulled into the harbour in Gothenburg. The customs was somewhat of an experience, as many companies working in import and export are experiencing. After pulling out of port and on to solid Swedish land, we made sure to familiarise ourselves with different driving regulations on the opposite side of the road – a skill which Carl seems to be able to perform seamlessly.
Arrival at the theme park
A short three-hour drive saw us pulling into ‘Shaun the Sheep’ land, Skånes Djurpark. It was fairly late in the evening, so an agreement was made with the park that we would offload the following morning. We spent a night out in the lorry, surrounded by beautiful scenery including Shaun the Sheep and lots of his friends! After an easy offload, we proceeded to make the journey back to the ferry.
Exactly two days after arriving home, we had the same journey this time with thankfully calmer seas!
This trip was both interesting and informative, giving us the opportunity to learn new things about international travel whilst honing our current skill set.
