Mumbai : Boxco Logistics India Pvt Ltd and deugro Projects (India) Private Limited  recently successfully handled two 930-tonnes reactors, 40 x 8.6 x 8.45 meter, manufactured by Godrej and consigned to Indian Oil Corporation, Paradip, for their prestigious refinery project of national importance. Equipment of such weight was shipped through Mumbai Port for the first time.

 

The reactors were initially planned to be shipped on a RoRo vessel from Mumbai Port to Paradip Port, but due to the narrow lock gate at Mumbai Port such a vessel was ruled out. deugro then chartered a special foreign vessel HLL RICHARDS BAY, geared with 2 x 700-tonnes capacity cranes and owned by Hansa Heavy Lift GmbH, which specializes in the transport of heavy lift cargoes across all oceans of the world, to load these two reactors at Mumbai Port's BPS Terminal.

 

This was one of the very few vessels equipped with the latest cranes having the capacity to lift such heavy cargo. The vessel was converted to coastal flag before sailing from Mumbai Port to Paradip.

 

The Mumbai Port authorities were initially sceptical about the capability of the Port's jetty to take the load of the reactors.

 

However, with the help of deugro's and Boxco Logistics'in-house engineering team and with help from a certified Chartered Engineer, a per square meter calculation of the berth strength at BPS was prepared to indicate the load distribution based on the special self Propelled Modular Trailers (SPMT) trailers being deployed for movement of such heavy loads, thereby convincing the Port that the operation was safe.

 

Mr. Rajeev Gupta, Chairman of Mumbai Port Trust, was appreciative of the skills and professionalism exhibitedby deugro Projects and Boxco Logistics in the successful handling of these two reactors for the first time since the inception of  Mumbai Port.

 

He assured the two companies of full cooperation in further coastal movements from Mumbai Port to Paradip.

 

Prior to the loading of the two reactors, the vessel first called at Dahej port to load seven heavy lift packages, also for Indian Oil Corporation, Paradip. These included three Bullets weighing 360 tonnes, 25.5 x 4.8 x 5.30 meter. It was also for the first time that a package weighing in excess of 200 tonnes was loaded at Dahej port.

 

Here too deugro's engineering team played a major role in convincing that the heavy reactor could traverse the bridge up to the Adani port jetty, by submitting the calculation of the bridge strength to the Adani Port authorities at Dahej.

 

In July 2012, deugro Projects had handled eight heavy lift cargoes, weighing up to 400 tonnes, also for the Indian Oil Corporation refinery project, from Mumbai to Paradip Port.

 

The heavy lifts were loaded on a specially chartered vessel, Baltic Winter, which was under the agency of J. M. Baxi.  The vessel too was converted to coastal flag before sailing from Mumbai Port to Paradip Port.

 

Mr. Satish Kumar Singh, Director-Projects of deugro India, along with Mr. Janesh Gulati, Executive Director and Mr. Vijayan D'Souza of Boxco Logistics presented mementos to Mr. Rajeev Gupta, Chairman, and Mr. Dilip Garde, Traffic Manager of Mumbai Port, in appreciation of their wholehearted support in handling the shipment of the reactors.