Combi Lift has begun delivering tugs and barges that will be used in the construction of Gazprom's Amur gas processing plant (GPP) in Russia, on behalf of the project's EPC contractor, Linde.
Combi Lift has cooperated with SAL Heavy Lift, also part of the Harren & Partner group, to transport eight custom-built Damen tugs from the Netherlands to Russia.
On behalf of Combi Lift, SAL's Type 161B vessel Annette loaded eight newly built tugs in the Waalhaven in the port of Rotterdam.
The four Amur River tugs and four Zeya River shallow draft tugs will be shipped to De-Kastri, Russia, where they will be used in the Gazprom Amur GPP project. According to Combi Lift, Damen Shipyards Group designed the tugs to cope with extremely low water levels, especially in the Zeya River.
The Amur River tugs, measuring 24.88 m x 11.97 m x 10.3 m and weighing 272 tonnes each, and the Zeya River shallow draft tugs, measuring 25.9 m x 8.5 m x 8.3 m and weighing 150 tonnes each, were stowed on deck with an overhang of up to 2.6 m to each side.
At the same time, customised barges and side floaters will be shipped from Damen Yichang via Shanghai to De-Kastri.
Once all of the assets have arrived at the port in early May, Combi Lift will begin the next stage of the project, which includes the delivery of components in five phases from 2018 to 2022, taking advantage of the ice-free periods on the Amur and Zeya Rivers.
According to Combi Lift, all project cargo for the GPP needs to be discharged in Svobodny, located on the right bank of the Zeya River.
Combi Lift will utilise heavy lift vessels to transport cargoes from ports in Europe and South Korea to the port of De-Kastri.
As the water depth in some areas is only 1.1 m deep, the cargoes will then be transferred to barges and towed using the shallow draft tugs to Svobodny. The cargo will then be transferred to the last mile logistics service provider.
A simulation of the Amur River tug transporting cargo on behalf of the Linde Group.
