Operator needed to move 10-tonne frozen polar bear sculpture

Roadtransport.com has seen some strange loads in its time, but is anyone willing to take a 10-tonne sculpture of a frozen polar bear to Copenhagen at the beginning of December?

The Ice Bear Project, which is a non-profit arts organisation run in conjunction with the WWF, is looking for an operator to transport an ice sculpture of a polar bear from the UK to Copenhagen for the United Nations Climate Change Conference on 5 December.

Transporting this load also comes with a promise that the organisation involved in this project will receive considerable publicity in return.

The life-size bronze sculpture of an adult polar bear skeleton will be positioned in a purpose-built freezing/ transportation tank, filled with water and then set in a cold store facility. When frozen, the tank will begin its journey to Denmark.

The statue, created by artist Mark Coreth, will then be exposed to the 'hot air' in Copenhagen, melting the ice and leaving nothing but the bronze bear skeleton and a pool of water.

Information for operators on moving a frozen polar bear

? There are forklift points in the sides of the Ice Bear's base.

? The forklift points will accept slings for hoisting, with the addition of a frame bar, to keep the straps away from the ice.

? The overall dimensions are:

Height: 2150mm (200mm base + 200mm bund/tray + 1,700mm skeleton/ice)

Width: 1400mm (1,200mm base + 2 x 100mm side frames)

Length: 4200mm (4000mm base + 2 x 100mm end frames)

The weight is in the region of 10 metric tonnes

To find out more on the project, go to www.icebearproject.org