Track Record

Orica Nitric Acid Plant

When a nitric acid plant needed to be shipped from Fredericia, Denmark to Australia, our expertise was called upon to provide the solution.

We shipped and delivered the plant from Fredericia for delivery to Gladstone, Queensland and Newcastle, New South Wales on behalf of global mining and chemical company, Orica.

The project was a massive task involving lengthy planning for the loading of 18,500 freight tonnes on the special Big Lift vessel, Da Hua.

The heaviest component was a 205 tonne column with a diameter of 7.5m and length of 53m (half a football field). Other key components included four stainless steel tanks with an individual weight of 18 tonnes and two boilers weighing 40 and 71 tonnes respectively.

The six week sailing from Denmark was the easy part.

Due to the size of the cargo and road restrictions in both Gladstone and Newcastle, cargo had to be barged up river. Furthermore, special barge landings and access roads had to be purpose-built up river weeks in advance of the vessel’s arrival.

In line with the client’s urgent delivery timetable, the Da Hua was loaded in four days, unloaded in Gladstone (bulk of cargo) in two days and the remaining items unloaded in 10 hours in Newcastle.