The roll-on/roll-off vessel that will ship Airbus A380 subassemblies to Bordeaux in France for transport to the Toulouse final assembly line has been launched at the Jinling shipyard in Nanjing, China. The 5,200t vessel, which is 154m (505ft) long and has a beam of 24m, will be delivered in March. It will operate between the various Airbus construction sites and Bordeaux, where the assemblies will then travel by barge and road to Toulouse. The vessel, commissioned by Franco-Norwegian company FRET/Cetam, will be be chartered by Airbus.
Source: Flight International
