Access World has transported an overhead crane girder from Jurong Port, Singapore, to South Sumatra, Indonesia.
The shipment totalled 3,100 freight tons, with the equipment manufactured in China. Access World organised the movement of equipment from a transhipment port for onward delivery to the receiver’s private jetty in Palembang, Indonesia, chartering a barge for the work.
The main girders measured 35.5 m long, with irregular top surfaces, facilitating the need for tandem lifts using suitable cranes. Given the cargo dimensions, Access World had to carefully assess the necessary equipment required during the different stages, and propose the transhipment port options – Jurong Port, Singapore or Boom Baru Port, Indonesia – Singapore was selected due to its port efficiency in such project operations and the availability of barge charter options.
During loading in China, poor design of the cargo lifting points and shoddy packaging material provided by the shipper resulted in cargo damage when a crated item being lifted onto the breakbulk vessel broke apart. Access World therefore ensured the lifting methods deployed in Singapore were improved upon during the ship-to-ship, over-side loading onto its chartered barge.
Once the vessel arrived in Singapore, Access World personnel were present onsite at berth to view the extent of cargo damage of the crated packages. A decision was made to engage a surveyor on the day of vessel arrival to document the state of cargo received. Careful handling of the crated cargo was completed during both daytime and night-time operations without further cargo damage.
The most arduous challenge was handling the transfer of the eight units of the main girders from the breakbulk vessel onto Access World’s chartered barge. The breakbulk vessel had cranes positioned in the centre of the ship, which limited the overall crane outreach, especially for tandem lifting.
Six of the main girder pieces were loaded directly onto the side of the barge. As the crane’s outreach prevented the transfer of the two remaining girders on to the centre of the barge, they were discharged port-side. After the breakbulk vessel departed, shore cranes were then deployed to load the remaining units onto the barge.
To ensure that the shipment was delivered successfully, Access World Singapore worked closely with relevant service providers for barge charter and the over-side transfer of project cargo.
Access World is a member of the XLProjects (XLP) network.
