Netherlands-headquartered Mammoet ensured that a 125-tonne ship barrier was lifted and repaired on the Julianakanaal, on behalf of OCI Nitrogen.
The Mammoet team in Geleen, in the south of the Netherlands, safely lifted the barrier allowing access and essential repairs to be completed in less than 48 hours.
The ship barrier is permanently in place to provide a stable connection for ships as they load and discharge ammonia. In mid-March 2018, a fault developed in one of the barrier's winches, which rendered the barrier unable to move.
It was not possible to fill the ships safely without the barrier, so it was a race against time to fix the winch and minimise the revenue lost through this fault.
Patric de Konink, plant manager at OCI Nitrogen, said: "The barrier was hanging at an angle and there were access issues. Originally, we thought that the barrier would have to be lifted using water-based cranes. But, in just two days, Mammoet had put together a complete lifting plan for a land-based lift."
An original lifting plan was found to be unsuitable when the proposed lifting site was deemed unstable. However, another crane in the Mammoet fleet was mobilised in order to complete the job from another lifting position.
Once lifted, the winch was fixed by engineers from Verhoef and the barrier was fully operational in just 48 hours. The Mammoet team led the project, coordinating the work with OCI's operational team, Verhoef, and service and maintenance supplier Sitech.
Cees de Bont, director region south, Mammoet Netherlands, said: "We had a dedicated project manager based on site at all times, along with a team of nine Mammoet professionals and four cranes. A fast and efficient lift was crucial to getting this barrier working again, but it was essential not to compromise the safety of any of the colleagues or impact the surrounding ships and machinery."
