Almajdouie moves worlds largest bullet tank

by Press Release on 2011-09-12 11:21:44

Almajdouie, a member of the Worldwide Project Consortium (WWPC), The Heavy Lift Group (THLG), Group Project Logistics Network (GPLN), Project Professionals Group (PPG), WORLD PROJECTS GROUP (WPG)  and Cargo Equipment Experts Group (CEE)    transported the world’s largest bullet tanks.

By moving such huge bullet tanks, the company gained one more feather to its eminent name.  Six (6) Bullet Tanks were delivered safely to the destination site while the rest are on the way.

Almajdouie is a group of experts in different fields like Logistics, Automotive, Manufacturing as well as Real Estate & Investments.  In Logistics itself, it has 14 companies and two of these specialize in transportation and installation of super heavy and oversize loads/cargoes.  Almajdouie Heavy Lift Transport and Engineering (MHL), the first ISO-9001:2008 certified Heavy Lift Company with head office in Dammam and Almajdouie PSC Heavy Lift (MPSC), a joint venture company between Almajdouie Group of Saudi Arabia and Fagioli Group of Italy, with head office in Bahrain.

The Group maintains its leadership in project logistics and project handling, providing ongoing satisfaction to its customers, suppliers and employees alike.

Almajdouie Heavy Lift Transport and Engineering (MHL) secured a record breaking contract for the transportation of the “World’s Largest Bullet Tanks”.  In total, Almajdouie will move Eight (8) Bullet Tanks, which in totality will break its own records.  These Bullet Tanks were fabricated locally: 5 units by Zamil in Dammam and 3 units by Bilfal in Jubail.  Almajdouie moved these huge Bullet Tanks from Ex-Work Yard to SATORP Site in Jubail.  The scope of work includes jack-up, loading and transportation from Ex-Work to SATORP Project Site.  The Bullet Tanks journey is about 130 kilometers.

SATORP is building a refinery to produce gasoline, low-sulfur diesel and naphtha in Jubail Industrial City 2, Saudi Arabia.  The plants will process heavy crude to produce 700,000 t/y of Para xylene, 140,000 t/y of Benzene and 200,000 t/y of Polymer Grade Propylene.  The project is divided into 15 packages which include construction of Distillation and Hydro Treating Facilities, Conversion Unit, Sulphur and Amine Saltwater Treatment Unit, Aromatics Plant and Coker Unit.  The output will supply the demands for transportation fuels and petrochemicals in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Almajdouie has been awarded with most of the packages for onshore project logistics business from various EPC contractors and local fabricators.  In these packages were various loads that include the world’s largest Bullet Tanks.  The dimension of these Tanks is around 84m x 8.4m x 12m and weighed around 1,112 tons, which is very important for the project.

Our foremost concern to move these huge Bullet Tanks was to find the appropriate route, which makes the job easy for us in moving these loads.  The Kingdom has given priorities to build better infrastructures which link the cities and make movements easy, but searching for less obstacle roads is not an easy task and has to be considered properly. Likewise, getting timely permission from the concerned authorities was also very important.  Therefore, our Project Managers, Operations Team and Government Relations Officers GROs had precisely planned and obtained the needed permits ahead of time.

MHL used its sophisticated and modern equipment like the Self-Propelled Modular Trailers (SPMTs) and the Hydraulic Conventional Axle Lines to move these massive Bullet Tanks. 

A Self-Propelled Modular Transporter or SPMT is a platform vehicle with a large array of wheels on the bottom.  SPMTs are used for transporting massive objects that are too big or heavy for trucks, but trucks can provide traction and braking for the SPMTs on inclines and descents.  These vehicles can also be called as Self-Propelled Modular Trailer.

A typical SPMT can have a grid of several dozens of computer-controlled wheels, all individually controllable and steerable in order to evenly distribute the weight and steer accurately.  Each individual wheel can swivel independently from other wheels that allow the SPMT to turn, move sideways, or even spin in place.  Some SPMTs allow each wheel to telescope independently with each other so that the load can be kept flat and evenly distributed while moving over uneven terrain.  As SPMTs often carry the world's heaviest loads on wheeled vehicles, they are very slow vehicles, often moving at under one mile per hour while fully loaded.  Some SPMTs are being controlled with a handheld control panel, while other SPMTs have a driver cabin.  In addition, multiple SPMTs can be combined to transport massive building-sized objects.

It was set in 16x2, 16x2 axle open compound configurations and side-by-side Dolly operations for conventional modules.  The load moves at a speed of safest way depending on the route, but the road crossing and moving against the traffic are really very critical.
Considering the traffic and the massive size, the planners decided to move the cargo during the night time, but it was not that easy because of extreme aridity and heat during the summer season in Saudi Arabia.  Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries in the world where the temperature during the summer season reaches to 45 to 50 Degrees Centigrade.  Weather conditions at night, especially in the desert region, are famous for being chilly even during the summer as the vast amount of sand gives up its daytime heat very quickly the moment the sun sets.  But our crew members are well-experienced and trained to face such challenges.

The cargo travelled around 130 km. from Dammam to Jubail job site overcoming all the obstacles and making its way carefully.  
Almajdouie has a crew of specially-trained operators for SPMT operations & Conventional Modules, who carries experience of moving huge loads in different locations as they are doing these for the last 3 decades successfully.      

Planning:
Planning is very vital and essential for without proper planning in project logistics, the task cannot be achieved in its required timeframe.  The first step is to understand and analyze the project scope to build an effective solution.  The critical step is the process of establishing the planning phase and following them thoroughly.

Many agencies are involved to support such massive moves, like the Royal Commission, Saudi Electric Company, Traffic Police and the Ministry of Communication & Transportation.

The Ministry of Communication and Transportation has a vital role in the initial study and working with us to find the best solutions to move by road.  This involved very special permissions to carry out the work in the above list, and in general, to encroach in residential areas with a cargo of this size. It is very essential to obtain written permission from the Saudi Electric Company, Traffic Police and the Ministry of Communication and Transportation.

At the same time, the support of local police and security greatly lend a hand in regards to the safe crossing of the cargo through the intersection of highways, and in general, providing safety and security where needed.  We also utilized several subcontractors to work in the preparation of the route and handle the street fixtures stated above.

Hurdles & Obstacles:
What were the barriers faced in moving such cargo, route survey, compactions, tree removals, backfilling, culvert support, street lamp post and traffic signals? 

Since, it was such a massive operation, we dedicated a team consisting of Civil Engineers, Project Facility Maintenance and Government Relation Officers in line with Operations Experts, to deal with external parties for obstacle removals and cutting of traffic flow to find the route which helped moving the massive load safely and timely. 

In many areas, route modifications were needed including destruction & installation of road barriers.  Getting permission for this involved around 3 months of engineering works, including studies and detailed simulations.  This was presented to the Ministry of Communication, who gave all the required permissions. 

Key facts about the route modifications are:
Removal and re-installation of 17x6 light posts, 1x6 signal lights and 3x6 signboards;     trimmed     around 15 trees.  In addition, we utilized steel plates & plywood in bulk     quantity as protection     for smooth run and replacements within strict time windows dictated by the security police.

On average, delivery took 15 days to travel the 130 km. distance.  With our proper planning and enthusiastic team, we moved 6 Bullet Tanks and the remaining quantity are making their way towards the site in Jubail. 

We congratulate all those who were involved in this crucial task, internal & external hands of all parties, who have extended tremendous support on every move.