Special planning that goes into moving heavy cargo is admirable
HAPPY times in Vancouver, Canada, were rekindled when a news release came through the ether a few days ago. Situated on a long and deep sound on Canada’s west coast, Vancouver is a most attractive place with a mountainous backdrop and a deepwater port.
The approach to the harbour from the Pacific Ocean is via a narrow strait, followed by a gradual turn to port, past the southern tip of Vancouver Island that protects a vast anchorage from the ravages of the swell that often is very heavy in the open sea.
In that anchorage, you usually will see numerous bulkers awaiting pre-loading surveys or simply waiting for the vessels at their prescribed berths to complete cargowork and leave.
To enter the port, ships pass through the First Narrows and under the Lion’s Gate Bridge, similar in shape to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco but shorter and lower in span. The bridge carries one of the major road links between the northern and southern sides of the inlet. An air draft (the height from the waterline to the highest point of the ship) of between 55 and 57m, depending on the ship’s beam, is permissible when passing under the bridge.
On the southern shore are a busy container terminal and a seaplane base from which aircraft operate to outlying islands and other remote areas. Modern bulk cargo terminals lie along the northern shore, most exporting Canadian minerals – coal, potash and various ores – and a variety of grains. From the mines in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, and from the agricultural centres on the Prairies, impressive trains move the bulk cargoes through some spectacular mountain passes in the Rockies, and down to the storage facilities in the harbour area. The extensive forests provide logs, sawn timber and woodchip that are exported to ports around the Pacific Rim.
Among the bulk handling facilities is Neptune Terminal through which potash and steel-making coal are exported across the Pacific to Asian markets.
Why, you rightly ask, am I wandering so far abroad when our own terminals perform similar functions? The recently-received news sheet revealed that, among several shipments of massive structures that are heavy and awkward to handle was a 135m, 1 435-ton shiploader.
The huge item of machinery was loaded aboard Jumbo Shipping’s heavylift vessel Jumbo Kinetic at the Vietnamese port of Phu My for shipment to Vancouver.
Planning for the shipment began before the start of construction of the shiploader in a Vietnamese plant. Loading, stowage and discharge of the unusual cargo was planned via specially-designed simulator programs. In the simulations, special attention would have been paid to ballasting operations, especially when the huge structure was lifted by the ship’s heavylift cranes, working in tandem, a very slow and precise operation. A weight like that suspended from the cranes can play havoc with the ship’s stability if ballasting is not done properly, although much of the process is automated.
Before and during the vessel’s 6 600-nautical mile voyage from Vietnam across the Pacific Ocean to Vancouver, detailed weather forecasting would have determined the best routing for the ship that might have had to alter course to avoid heavy seas.
I suppose that lower costs would have been the reason for a Vietnamese company gaining the contract to construct the shiploader, rather than a Canadian manufacturer whose wage bill and steel price would be considerably higher than those of their Asian competitor. Of course, apart from the construction costs, the significant shipping costs for the 30-day delivery voyage aboard a highly specialised ship and port dues would have been included in the overall budget.
Heavylift operations represent a busy sector in the maritime industry as harbour equipment, wind turbines, other machinery and parts for the offshore oil industry are moved regularly.
Amid vigorous competition, Vietnam did well to secure the construction contract, and those passing L Berth in the harbour will note several major parts, manufactured by local contractors for a new Debmarine
diamond recovery vessel. Perhaps more contracts like this can come the way of local engineers whose prowess has been demonstrated well in the past? The shipbuilding sector – notably Damen and Nautic in Cape Town and South African Shipyard in Durban – produces quality vessels, while shiprepairers have worked wonders in returning damaged or immobilised ships to service.
Quality work, as well as compliance with budget and deadline, will encourage existing clients to return to South African yards when considering tenders; word gets around, and if the service offered meets their standards, new clients can be persuaded to use local engineers.
And the country urgently needs new clients, new investment and foreign currency.
An unusual vessel off the coast earlier this week was the 190m Camelot, an accommodation barge and floating storage and workshop facility registered in St Vincent & Grenadines. She has been in service off Togo in West Africa.