On July 2, 2025, the flood protection for the Linz Commercial Port was officially opened. This was preceded by the installation of the new port gate by Felbermayr at the beginning of January as part of the "Safe Port of Linz" project by Linz AG.
This is intended, according to reports, to ensure the most comprehensive flood protection possible on the Danube and to ensure that handling, storage, and transport activities can continue even during flood events.
The experts from Felbermayr Transport and Lifting Technology and Hydraulic Engineering were commissioned by the company Andritz for the heavy cargo logistics and the installation of the two steel structures at the construction site.
From Turkey to Linz
The port gate was
produced in Turkey and had to be shipped to Austria in two parts lying down. The ship arrived with a one-day delay at the heavy cargo port in Linz. In the night of January 8, 2025, the unloading and rotation of the two parts took place at the Felbermayr heavy cargo terminal in the heavy cargo port in Linz.
According to Michael Maier-Bauer, project manager at Felbermayr Transport and Lifting Technology Linz, a 400-ton gantry crane and two mobile cranes with a maximum lifting capacity of 150 and 160 tons, respectively, were used for this purpose.
The port gate parts then had to be loaded onto the barge coupled with the pusher ship "Grafenau." Grafenau took over the transport
of the parts from the heavy cargo port to the construction site in the commercial port.
The Installation
A 650-ton mobile crane LTM 1650 was responsible for the installation of the new port gate into the gate chamber. It reached a maximum reach of 18 meters and was ballasted with 135 tons.
The two port gate parts were lifted successively from the ship into the gate chamber – the lower part of the port gate was 27.70 meters long, 2.60 meters wide, and 5.30 meters high.
After securing the first part, the upper part was lifted in. It was 35.7 meters long, 2.3 meters wide, and 4.9 meters high. According to Felbermayr, the horizontally guided sliding gate has a
clear passage width of 26 meters.
"It was an interesting, non-everyday project. In addition to the time pressure caused by the delay and the extreme weather conditions, the nature of the parts was also a challenge," said Maier-Bauer, adding: "Their center of gravity was unfavorable. This meant they had to be slung with centimeter precision to ensure they could be lifted vertically into the gate chamber during assembly."
The Company
The Felbermayr Holding GmbH is headquartered in Wels/Austria and has 81 locations in 17 European countries. The company specializes in special and heavy transport, mobile crane and work platform rental, heavy lift handling, as well as high-rise, underground, and hydraulic engineering, special foundation engineering, and areas of the construction
