Subscribe options

Select your newsletters:

Please enter your email address:

@

Your email address will only be used for the purpose of sending you the ITER Organization publication(s) that you have requested. ITER Organization will not transfer your email address or other personal data to any other party or use it for commercial purposes.

If you change your mind, you can easily unsubscribe by clicking the unsubscribe option at the bottom of an email you've received from ITER Organization.

For more information, see our Privacy policy.

News & Media

Latest ITER Newsline

  • Image of the week | First cryopump expected in the coming months

    The cryopumps that will create and maintain extremely demanding vacuum conditions inside the ITER machine are marvels of technology that have been in developmen [...]

    Read more

  • ITER Baseline | STAC committee reviews new plans for construction and operation

    Last week, the ITER Council Science and Technology Advisory Committee (STAC) met at ITER Headquarters to review the new plans for construction and operation pro [...]

    Read more

  • IAEA General Conference | Fusion energy strongly advocated

    Last week the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held its annual General Conference, with delegates representing more than 130 countries and many interna [...]

    Read more

  • On site | 28 who "truly shined"

    The new ITER Star Awards recognize exemplary performance and commitment. Every year, during the annual assessment campaign, ITER staff may be recognized for exe [...]

    Read more

  • MT-28 Conference | Superconducting magnets as a catalyst

    Many passers-by paused for a moment and picked up their cell phones to capture the scene. It was indeed rare to see dancers on the square outside of the Pavillo [...]

    Read more

Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

Component delivery

A jewel in a box

Sailing under the flag of Germany, the Regine is a mighty ship, strengthened for heavy cargo and equipped on its portside with two 750-tonne on-board cranes. Having sailed from Korea on 25 June, the ship berthed at Marseille-Fos harbor on the morning of 21 July. In its hold, the ship carried a dull, cabin-sized metal box with slated walls and a corrugated roof. The box was nondescript, but inside it contained a 450-tonne jewel that had been more than ten years in the making.
 
On Wednesday 22 July, the first vacuum vessel sector from Korea was unloaded at Marseille harbour—a long and delicate operation that lasted more than two hours. Photo Emmanuel Bonici (Click to view larger version...)
On Wednesday 22 July, the first vacuum vessel sector from Korea was unloaded at Marseille harbour—a long and delicate operation that lasted more than two hours. Photo Emmanuel Bonici
An ITER vacuum vessel sector is a wondrous piece of technology and one of the most challenging sub-components of the whole machine. As the vacuum vessel acts as the first confinement barrier for the burning plasma, its elements are subject to stringent regulations, strict controls and in-depth inspections at every stage of the fabrication process.
 
A single sector (and it takes nine to form the toroidal structure of the vacuum vessel) comprises approximately 20 kilometres of welds that must all be carefully verified and tested, and for which several dozen ultrasound scanning techniques were developed.
 
This dull, cabin-sized metal box with slated walls and a corrugated roof houses a a wondrous piece of technology and one of the most challenging sub-components of the whole ITER Tokamak. (Click to view larger version...)
This dull, cabin-sized metal box with slated walls and a corrugated roof houses a a wondrous piece of technology and one of the most challenging sub-components of the whole ITER Tokamak.
Captain Franck Escher, of the Regine, was aware that his cargo was unique. His ship had handled loads that were considerably heavier, but none as precious as the one he was preparing to unload.
 
The operation was a long and delicate one that lasted more than two hours. Equipped with a complex rigging arrangement, the load was slowly lifted from the deep cargo hold, pivoted to align with the waiting transportation platform, and finally lowered and positioned carefully onto the waiting flatbed truck.
 
All the while powerful pumps, capable of moving 500 tonnes of water per hour, were filling ballasts on the starboard side of the ship to compensate for the weight of the cabin-sized component.
 
Another convoy, among the heaviest that will cross the inland sea Étang-de-Berre and travel the ITER Itinerary, is now on its way to the ITER construction site, heralding the start of a new project phase: machine assembly.
 
Click here to watch a video of the unloading operation on 22 July, commented by ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot and Vacuum Vessel Project Team leader Chang Ho Choi.
 

return to the latest published articles