Watch: Jumbo Kinetic Makes New Record By Lifting 2086 Tonne Reactor On board

Jumbo Shipping’s Jumbo Kinetic has broken its own records. This time in the Port of Ortona, Italy where the Jumbo Kinetic has lifted a 2086 tonne (62 x 8 x 8m) reactor on board.

It is the heaviest reactor a K-class heavy lift vessel has lifted, smashing the vessel’s own record of lifting a giant 1,929-tonne wash tower, the heaviest cargo ever lifted by Jumbo, in August 2019.

Loading in Europe

The Jumbo Kinetic team loaded two giant reactors from a barge at Walter Tosto in Ortona, destined for the Thaioil Clean Fuel Project in East Thailand. The first was the record-breaking 2086t reactor and the second reactor was almost as heavy, weighing an impressive 1921t and measuring 59 metres in length and 8 metres wide. To meet the 6.8-metre draft restrictions in Ortona, the team first lightened the vessel by removing the tween decks and pontoon hatch covers resulting in a precise heavy lift with a shallow draft.

The Jumbo Kinetic crew then continued sailing up the coast to Porto Marghera where another two reactors weighing 1850 tonnes each and measuring 59 x 8 x 7m were waiting. Each reactor was loaded from a barge using Jumbo’s cranes and placed carefully on deck. All cargo was safely secured and sea-fastened before the vessel set off on the last leg of its journey to Laem Chabang, Thailand.

Discharging in Thailand

In Laem Chabang, the four reactors were carefully unloaded by the Jumbo Kinetic cranes directly onto extended trailers waiting on the quayside. The reactors are to be used as part of Thaioil’s Clean Fuel Project to produce cleaner transport fuels in a more environmentally friendly way. Their new process will remove sulphur, NOx and dust emissions from its Sriracha Refinery in the Chonburi province in the east of Thailand.

Precision Lifting, Precision Planning

“Precise heavy lifting with a K-class vessel requires precise planning. With a busy K-class sailing schedule as well as Covid-19 restrictions and delays, we still managed to fit this project in seamlessly for our clients.” Guy Foubert, Regional Commercial Manager, Jumbo Shipping.

Our engineers and port captains worked closely with our client to create a highly customised solution. The added complexity of the ultra-heavy cargo meant that smart and accurate logistical planning and engineering were essential.

In addition to our people, Jumbo was awarded this contract due to the 3000-tonne dual lifting capacity of the Jumbo K3000 vessels cranes. The K3000 class offers 3250 m2 free deck space, and 21,000 cbm hold capacity and is well suited for the transportation of large and lengthy equipment such as reactors and columns.

“A strong working team has made a new record possible: together we achieved new levels in the heavy-lift transportation industry. Complexity and challenges required by EPC projects are constantly increasing and a common approach is exactly what we need to put in place!” say the PSS Logistics Team.

With thanks to our JV project partners for entrusting us with this critical shipment: JV Petrofac South East Asia Pte Ltd, Saipem Singapore Pte Ltd and Samsung Engineering (Thailand) Co. Ltd.

In yet another occassion, Jumbo Shipping raised the bar with the recent shipment of a 1435t shiploader, measuring 135 x 25 x 43 metres, from Vietnam to Canada for the machine’s manufacturer Tenova.

After almost two years of engineering, the Jumbo Shipping team saw their hard work come to life when the Jumbo Kinetic was captured on film lifting and shipping this gigantic 1435t shiploader from Phu My Port, Vietnam to Vancouver, Canada.

Heavy Lifting
Having conducted a final loading simulation, the time had come for the engineers to put MV Jumbo Kinetic, a K-class vessel with 3,000t dual lifting capacity, to the real test by loading this super-heavy shiploader onboard.

Lift On
Based on the size of the unit and the length of its boom, loading this shiploader at Phu My Port, Vietnam was a formidable task, but the dual lift went without a hitch. With stage one of the lifting operation complete, the next step was to temporarily suspend the unit above the deck so that the boom could be retracted to change the centre of gravity position. This enabled the vessel’s team to re-rig and then perform a single lift to shift the shiploader to its final stowage position where it could be secured for the sea voyage to Vancouver.

This video shows the spectacular sight of the Jumbo Kinetic arriving in Vancouver with the shiploader stowed on deck as well as the masterful loading and discharge operations.

Lift Off

After a 20-day ocean voyage, the Jumbo Kinetic arrived safe and sound at the Neptune terminal in Vancouver and discharge operations got underway. If the engineering work at Phu My Port was not already impressive enough, our client raised the bar even further for the offloading operations with the team needing to discharge the shiploader while it was half suspended over the water.

The shiploader was then steadily manoeuvred onto the pivot point at the quayside and onto the semi-circle shaped rails above the water. Now in its final position at the Neptune Bulk Terminals in North Vancouver, this shiploader is reshaping the landscape of the port.

Thanks to strong team work and cooperation between all parties involved, a journey of two years has come to a successful completion.