What is the floating platform that can be seen from the coasts of Estepona, Casares, and Manilva?

A large maritime transport platform accompanied by two tugboats has been spotted these days from the coasts of Estepona, Casares, and Manilva, arousing the curiosity of both residents and sailors who encounter it in the Alboran Sea.

It is a large, slow-moving barge, traveling at about 3.4 knots, or just over 6 km/h, carrying a large metal structure which, as confirmed by Diario Sur, is the new section of the historic Anne-de-Bretagne bridge from Nantes, measuring 150 meters long and 32 meters wide.

The main element weighs approximately 2,000 tons, with an additional 1,000 tons of temporary structures. In total, the barge carries around 3,000 tons of bridge structure, hence its slow movement.

The columns rising from the barge are actually temporary support pillars and do not form part of the bridge section but provide support and stability during transport, helping to keep the piece stable on the barge and also serving as protection for the structure and reinforcements to withstand the loads during navigation and wave movement.

This piece, manufactured at the Fincantieri shipyards in Monfalcone (Italy), was loaded on October 22, and the maritime convoy set off, according to sources from the city council of Nantes, on October 28, traveling through the Adriatic, the Sicilian channel, the Western Mediterranean, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Atlantic Ocean, and arriving in Nantes via the Loire River.

The Port Authority of Estepona has not recorded any scheduled stop or maneuver at the port and, for now, there is no official communication beyond the ordinary transit notified by the vessel. The operation, however, was visible through the public AIS tracking systems, which confirmed the convoy's trajectory towards the Strait of Gibraltar.

Transformation of the city

The transfer of large infrastructures by sea is common in such engineering projects, especially in suspension bridges or large metal sections that cannot be transported by land.

The new Anne-de-Bretagne bridge will replace the existing structure over the Loire and is one of the most significant works currently underway in the Pays de la Loire region.

This section of the Anne-de-Bretagne bridge structure will arrive in Nantes by the end of 2025, barring unforeseen events, and is part of a very innovative project for the city that began in 2014 and will culminate at the end of 2027, called "Nantes, the Loire, and us".

A project of urban transformation and sustainable mobility that will redefine the city's connection through the Loire River, also an example of citizen participation and involving the transformation of the current bridge into "a bridge that will house a plaza suspended over the water and will combine mobility, green spaces, and walking areas, responding to the extensive public debate and integrating opinions on eco-design, mobility, aesthetics, and adaptation to climate change."

Thus, this sighting has generated significant interest in the Western Costa del Sol, as it is unusual for structures of this magnitude to transit so close to the coast.