Heavy transport engineering group Mammoet has loaded in a 1,300-tonne cable basket for transpooling onto an offshore service vessel at Jubail Commercial Port, Saudi Arabia.
The cable basket arrived at the port on a barge, was loaded in, transpooled and then loaded back onto the barge. The height difference between the barge and the quay meant that thorough engineering was required to ensure a smooth operation.
Munawar Khan, Mammoet project manager, explained: “The cable basket needed to be loaded in for transpooling from the quay, as it could not be done safely from the barge. The spooling then is performed by rotating the cable basket on SPMTs in a circular motion.
“However, we were presented with a task to overcome the height difference between the deck of the barge and the quay for load-in and load-out operations. Our experience in handling large and heavy components – often weighing in excess of 1,000 tonnes – proved critical in doing this effectively.”
Mammoet engineers created a detailed load-in plan, which included a bespoke 50 m ramp, designed to accommodate the elevation difference whilst bearing a total load of over 1,500 tonnes (including the weight of SPMTs). The result was a pathway for 18 lines of SPMTs to roll onto the barge, lift the basket and roll off onto the jetty.
The spooling operation was then performed with the basket being rotated by the SPMTs.
Munawar continued: “Thanks to our strong regional presence, we were able to bring in the right equipment and SPMT operators experienced in handling such large components to work in two shifts – allowing us to complete the transpooling operation in less than 48 hours, ready for transportation offshore.”
