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Projectdetails
  • Year: August 2016
  • Market: Port development
  • Vessel: Happy Star

Biggest shiploader so far

BigLift is quite busy in the mining industry. Last year, Happy Star and Happy Dover transported equipment for Westshore Terminals in Vancouver, Canada, for Sandvik Mining & Construction. One of the pieces to be moved is the largest shiploader ever built by Sandvik. At the same time, this shiploader is the biggest structure BigLift has shipped in one piece so far.

Westshore Terminals is undergoing a major infrastructural reinvestment programme, which is to be completed in 2018. During this project four of the oldest machines on site – the three original stacker-reclaimers and the shiploader serving Berth One – will be replaced by modern, more efficient equipment.

BigLift was contracted by Sandvik Mining & Construction to transport the new shiploader and tripper car, and the first stacker-reclaimer and its accompanying equipment from Qidong, China to the berth in Canada. Volume-wise, it would just have been possible to transport all the pieces in one voyage on Happy Star – which would then have been totally packed. However, it was decided to split the shipment in two separate voyages on Happy Dover and Happy Star, because Sandvik was contractually obliged to have the new shiploader fully operational within a fortnight after its arrival. This could only be done, if the shiploader arrived on a dedicated vessel. So the stacker-reclaimer was shipped first and made ready before the arrival of the shiploader.

 

First shipment
Happy Dover loaded her cargo at the ROC berth in Qidong. She loaded the 550 mt stacker-reclaimer’s main structure, the 203.5 mt elevator conveyor, a boom, the counter weights, the tripper car and several smaller items. Once at their final destination, all this equipment was discharged onto a barge, as the discharge terminal was still fully operational at that time.

Second shipment

At the same berth in China, Happy Star lifted the 1060 mt shiploader and the 60 mt tripper car on board as soon as their construction was complete. BigLift has dealt with heavier cargoes in the past, but size-wise this shiploader can be considered to be the largest cargo item ever shipped in one piece on a BigLift vessel. At 84.65 m long by 52.29 m wide and 53.96 m high, manoeuvring the shiploader between the cranes was a challenge.

During the voyage the shiploader had considerable overhang on both sides. The crane stuck out 43.7 m over portside and had an overhang of 11.8 m over the starboard side. The top of the shiploader was high up, at 63 m above the waterline.

After a successful discharge of both the new shiploader and the tripper car onto the quay at Westshore terminals, Happy Star turned around and took the old shiploader and tripper car away from the quay. The old crane pieces were placed on a barge to be removed from the site.

Third shipment

The second stacker-reclaimer and its additional equipment was shipped to Westshore Terminals on another BigLift vessel in May 2017.

BigLift is happy to have been part of another interesting Sandvik Mining & Construction project.

Click here for pictures of the transportation of the stacker reclaimer, tripper car and more.

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