There is no denying that last year we could have filled a whole magazine with news about new dredgers being named, modifications to existing dredgers and orders for new dredgers.

As we saw in last month’s issue dredging contractors are busy working on numerous projects around the world and looking at their investments of new equipment it seems that they expect a continuation of these projects over the next couple of years.

Jan De Nul

After successful investments between 2007 and 2011 amounting to more than EUR 2 billion, Jan De Nul

Group decided to add 3 more vessels to the fleet – two trailing suction hopper dredgers with a hopper capacity of 14,000m3 each and the ‘Joseph Plateau’. Back in August 2012, the Belgium-based dredging contractor named their fall pipe and mining vessel “Joseph Plateau” at the Spanish shipyard Construcciones Navales de Norte in Sestao. The 191.5m long vessel will be used for precise rock dumping to a depth of 2km. The system for the unfolding of the fall pipe is extremely advanced and operates fully automatically. At the bottom of the fall pipe there is a ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) that accurately corrects the position of the lower-end of the fall pipe. The vessel has a 31,500 tonnes loading capacity and makes it possible to dump 2,000 tonnes of rock per hour at a depth of 2km. The fall pipe vessel will mostly be deployed in the offshore industry in which oil and gas pipes have to be installed at large depths. The fall pipe can process boulders with a diameter up to 40cm, which is more than any other fall pipe vessel on the market. The Joseph Plateau is also suitable for deep-sea mining operations i.e. for recovery of minerals from the seabed and cable laying activities. The vessel will be delivered beginning 2013 and a first project is already ensured.

The two trailing suction hopper dredgers (TSHD) were ordered at the end of 2010. The ‘Pedro Alvares Cabral’ was delivered in October 2012, while the ‘Bartolomeu Dias’ will be delivered in the course of 2013. Both TSHDs were constructed at the Uljanik Brodogradiliste shipyard in Pula, Croatia. These vessels are especially suitable for operations in shallow and restricted waters. Carrying capacity will be around 22,500 tonnes at a draught of only 10m. As with all vessels in the fleet, special attention is paid to the environmental impact. Efficient power consumption, low emissions, optimised hull design, waste treatment on board all contribute to efficient and environmental-friendly dredging. These environmental measures resulted in the award of a ‘Clean Ship’ certificate. As with most of the large dredging contractors the vessel has been developed in-house, based on the experience gained designing and commissioning 8 new hopper dredgers in the last 3 years. The latest order was placed with Ravestein for the design and construction of a new backhoe dredger. The vessel will have a total installed power of 2.150 kW and maximum operating depth will be 20m. The pontoon will have one hydraulically operated spud carrier, three tilting spud legs and will be delivered in January 2014.

DEME

In November, neighbouring dredging contractor DEME named its new heavy-duty cutter suction dredger (CSD) “Amazone” at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre in Singapore. This new sea-going dredger is self-propelled and features no less than 12,860 kW of total installed power. The ‘Amazone’ has an integrated barge loading facility enabling to discharge both through the traditional floating pipeline and directly into a barge moored alongside. The increased discharge power allows for covering significantly larger distances between the dredging area and the reclamation area when pumping ashore. The ‘Amazone’ is specially equipped for dredging hard rock formations. She has a rock cutter-head designed for great production rates with low down-time, thanks to an advanced quick teeth replacement system, a low spillage due to an optimised hydraulic design and highly durable teeth adapters with virtually maintenance-free contact surfaces. The ‘Amazone’ is able to dredge at water depths up to 30m. Singapore has always been an important partner for the DEME Group. Many of their ‘green’ vessels have substantially contributed to the extension of the city state and all activities and operations in the Far East area are monitored and coordinated from the Singapore office.  The Amazone is the last vessel to be christened of DEME’s extensive investment program, involving the construction of almost 20 main dredging and marine engineering vessels over the last five years.  DEME is strongly evolving from a contractor to a global solution provider. Besides the further growth in core-business activities of dredging and land reclamation, the Group is focusing on new projects and challenges in the field near-shore and far-shore renewable energy, offshore oil and gas activities and sea mineral resources.

Damen Dredging Equipment

At the end of last year, Netherlands-based Damen Dredging Equipment announced it re-designed the Chinese dredger “Jie Long” to adapt it to a cutter dredging at the important depth of 50m. This deep dredging is required for its contribution to the infrastructural works of the Macau-Hong Kong-Zhu Hai transport link. Damen not only engineered and delivered the components, but also supervised the outfitting process. The “Jie Long” started life as a plain suction dredger, and had been converted long ago in a relatively standard cutter suction dredger. As the owner, CCCC Guangzhou Dredging Co, has major refurbishment plans for the “Jie Long”. The plans included the facility to dredge at minus 50m, a task the “Jie Long” could not accomplish in its current state. The complete refurbishment project was awarded to Damen Dredging Equipment. Damen first visited the “Jie Long” to asses the state and outfitting of the dredger. As a result, the engineering team could start to design new customised ladder hinge points in the pontoons. Furthermore a completely new ladder arrangement was designed, which included a submerged dredge pump and a cutter unit. The cutter unit can be replaced by a dustpan head, which will be used to clean the tunnel track just before the tunnel elements are positioned. The transport link Macau-Hong Kong-Zhu Hai link is to reduce passenger and freight transport over land by creating a bridge and tunnel alternative, cutting travel times by a almost 4 hours to a mere 40 minutes.

Proposed container weighing legislation and the rise of automation make this an exciting time in spreader manufacturing. This, in addition to buoyant order levels and a range of technological innovations, means there’s plenty to talk about.

The increasing prevalence of automation in Cargotec-owned Swedish manufacturer Bromma’s work is exemplified in orders such as a contract with the new Dubai Ports World-led Rotterdam World Gateway terminal. Announced in January, this involves the delivery of 52 yard spreaders that will be fitted to automatic stacking cranes (ASCs). Bromma now has more than 400 crane spreaders on order or in service for automated terminals around the world.

Singapore-headquartered manufacturer RAM states that it expects to see the influence of automation on the spreader market continue to rise in importance. It considers the USA, Europe and the Middle East to be of particular prevalence in this trend, with terminals in these regions increasingly opting for ASCs that operate with very high levels of availability and low maintenance costs.

Indeed, based on its experiences of supplying spreaders for such operations thus far, RAM states that removing the “human operator factor” ensures every container movement is handled in a “perfect” that underpins these productivity enhancements. To this end, the manufacturer states that its current ASC spreaders will last well beyond 20 years.

WEIGHT WATCHERS

Of course, automation is very much a natural market evolution, with technological advancements as the catalyst. The matter of statutory container weighing may well become a somewhat more enforced concern. It is a very real possibility that the SOLAS convention will be amended in 2017 to make the weighing of all containers before shipping a legal requirement. This means both spreader developers and terminal operators need to make educated guesses about the importance of integrating weighing systems into spreader solutions.

Dutch company VDL Containersystemen is still a touch ambivalent about what this means for the market. While it has noted interest in specifying a weighing system in/on twistlocks, Sales Manager Pieter Verdonschot, tells World Port Development that VDL has not equipped any spreaders with weighing systems since 2006. He attributes this to the uncertainty about the potential regulations, which is making operators hesitant to invest in weighing systems when it is not currently necessity.

Bromma has also noted an upturn in interest in its weight verification technology. The company states that this is both in terms of the number of requests for quotations and the amount of technical questions it receives. The company adds that weight verification using twistlock sensor technology may be a “very attractive alternative.”

The company is currently in the final stages of verifying the technology and system to handle twistlocks automatically during loading and discharge of a vessel. It is building the third generation prototype in this respect, including detailed technology that it is taking to the market. This technology can be applied as a movable standalone platform or integrated on the quay crane.

RAM states that its customers’ general preference for container weighing at the spreader is indeed a system with embedded weight sensitivity in the twistlock. The company has seen an upturn in demand for spreaders fitted with weighing systems. It states that integrating weighing at the twistlock stage has the added benefit of unique identification for each twistlock.

A RAM representative tells WPD: “While the container weighing may initially be the most important requirement, the fact that the loading history of each twistlock can be recorded and stored, even when the twistlock may be switched to another spreader, provides the end user with important performance information that may enable the usable life of twistlocks to be extended.”

On the other hand, when a twistlock has been severely overloaded, RAM notes that this technology can also flag up potential safety issues. So, regardless of legislation, the company argues that weighing systems bring benefits to both the terminal and the spreader manufacturer.

POWER POINTS

Another area of discourse and debate in spreader manufacture surrounds the pervasiveness of all-electric systems.

RAM, for example, asserts that all-electric spreaders are “not the panacea” for all spreader applications. It notes that the all-electric option has become as standard on yard cranes such as rubber-tyred and rail-mounted gantry machines, and that it is now uncommon to supply electro hydraulic spreaders in single or twinlift configurations for this application. However for ship to shore operations, the manufacturer argues that the situation is more complex. For this reason, it tries not to take a fixed view but rather find the best solution for each spreader design. “There is still a divided opinion that generally favours electro hydraulic designs of spreaders over all-electric,” the company tells WPD. “In applications where features such micro motion or grapple legs are required, hydraulic operation still has its advantages over all-electric spreaders. The hydraulic cylinder being very powerful, compact and capable of withstanding shock loads is still difficult to replicate at a comparable price when the motion is all-electric.” As such, RAM states that hydraulics still play a vital role for spreader manufacture in more specialist areas. For this reason, the company has designed and supplied hybrid spreaders that incorporate the best features of both systems. These are typically deployed on intermodal/swapbody handling spreaders, where the operation of the spreader is split between two specific functions – top lift and bottom lift. In this configuration, the spreader is in all-electric mode for top lift and only uses the hydraulic system when the grapple legs are deployed for bottom lift handling. VDL is also very much an expo
nent of the ‘horses for courses’ school of thought, supplying spreader solutions based on clients’ exact requirements. For example, it attests that, while it has seen an increasing demand for fully electric spreaders, this is more specifically for inland terminals. It adds benefits such as the reduction of noise, energy consumption and the risk of oil leakages are growing in importance at smaller terminals.

VDL’s recent orders for all-electric units include two contracts sealed in December to supply large, fully electric spreaders to German customers. One – with rotation, gravity adjustment and a damping system – is for Contargo in Ginsheim-Gustavsburg, and the other – with rotation, gravity adjustment and flippers – is for Alfred Talke in Hürth.

On a further point about meeting specific requirements, Verdonschot cites the example of two customised piggyback spreaders that his company is currently manufacturing. This, the Sales Manager details, exemplifies the ever-present demand for custom-made spreaders. At the time of speaking to WPD for this article, the company was finalising another deal to provide a client with two further such models. Both projects, Verdonschot explains, are far from standard, with increased capacity and increased piggyback arm lengths.

All-electric spreaders have certainly been an important source of business for Bromma over the past year. In October, for example, a North American client lodged Bromma’s largest ever combined all-electric ship to shore (STS) and all-electric yard crane spreader order. This came from Long Beach Container Terminal, California, with the 18 STS units marking what Bromma calls a “significant commercial turning point for STS all-electric crane spreaders.” This, the manufacturer states, is because previously its largest order for STS Greenline spreaders amounted to six units. The company adds that the 32 yard spreaders continue a tradition of supplying environmentally friendly spreaders to major terminals. Since introducing its first all-electric green spreader just over a decade ago, Bromma has delivered more than 2,000 to leading terminals around the world.

The manufacturer has recently upgraded its STS45E all-electric spreaders. Its new second generation features more than 15 enhancements, all based on evidence and case studies gathered from operations over the past two years.

FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS

In other innovations, Bromma’s Tandem product line is being updated to include additional configurations to meet the needs of terminal operators. Another new feature is the inclusion of an optional electrical quick connector to enable unmanned spreader switching. With the quick connector, changing the spreader from Tandem to Single mode can be done within three minutes.

RAM, meanwhile, states that, while it has new spreader products in the pipeline, it is not prepared to provide details on a piecemeal basis prior to any official launches. Its continuous research and development programme covers a broad range of products encompassing spreaders, spreader attachments and special equipment designed to enhance productivity on container terminals.

The company states that there is also renewed interest in its RAM PinSmart system, the progress of which has been somewhat impeded by the recession. This machine, which can be used at ground level or mounted on the de-coning platforms of STS cranes, automates the task of manually removing or fitting twistlocks to shipping containers. RAM states that operators are showing increasing enthusiasm for the system as a cost effective solution for removing and fitting the stacking twistlocks required to secure containers on the decks of container vessels. PinSmart can handle over 85% of all popular twistlocks, and RAM states that it offers significant safety and productivity benefits.

MARKET UPLIFT

With the current levels of market activity, there’s good reason for spreader manufacturers to innovate. Bromma states that it enjoyed a particularly successful calendar year in 2012, in which its order intake soared by 36% on 2011. This was notably driven by a number of large terminal projects in Europe and North America.

“We have an interesting year ahead of us with important deliveries to the big terminal projects,” says Vikram Raman, Bromma Conquip Vice President and Commercial Director. “Irrespective of some uncertainty in the world economy, we see continued strong activity in the marketplace and I expect a continued strong order intake. A number of important things will happen in the coming years; the first triple-E vessels will be delivered and the Panama Canal will open. These events will influence the market we are acting in and will lead to increased expectations from the customers. Bromma is well prepared to face the challenges to come.”

VDL Containersystemen, meanwhile, has also enjoyed positive order levels in its spreader operations, and is in the process of actively expanding into the IMEA region (India, Middle East, Africa). As part of this effort, the company welcomed Ron Braam to its team in September. As an expert in spreaders and other port-related equipment, he will spearhead this IMEA drive, having worked in the Middle East since 1996.

RAM states that it has been “exceptionally busy” over the last six months, securing contracts in all major regions of the world. This, the manufacturer states, has resulted in sales of more than 265 spreaders in total. This includes:

·         More than 115 RAM 29XX CenterSpread expanding twinlift spreaders

·         Over 140 all-electric units (90 RAM 35XX models for RTGs/RMGs and 52 RAM 39XX CenterSpread all-electric twinlift ASC spreaders)

·         An order for 11 RAM 2740 mobile harbour crane spreaders

These orders were a mix of deliveries direct to terminal operators and installations as part of new crane builds for terminal expansions and new terminals.

Such order levels are a reflection of a solid market in unsteady times. The demands on spreader manufacturers continue to evolve at a rapid pace, and the companies to which WPD spoke for this article certainly aren’t complaining.

In the world of pneumatic shipunloaders – the usually low volume, energy smart and largely pollution free handlers of cement, coal, grain, wood pellets and other commodities – the cheap copycat machines have proven to be only reliable for about two years. Typically then, the frustrated customer is pounding on the door of an established maker of the vacuum-type pneumatics for something more dependable  . . . and that’s the good news.

Take the experience of a leading manufacturer, Van Aalst Bulk Handling, of Holland, where Sales & Marketing Manager, Hans Van Est, reports of being frustrated by “almost every year a new competitor popping up” causing his company to lose markets in Bangladesh to pneumatic unloaders copied by China and India. “After these copies failed, we are now the preferred supplier over there again,” he says. “The clients are coming back to us.”

Long breath

The Dutch have a saying: “A good company has a long breath” and Van Est says that is proving to be true for Van Aalst. “In China the cheap copies are used only for low unloading capacity and small ships. “It is not pleasant when we lose an order to one of these new suppliers, but the quality of these units is so poor that the clients are finding buying cheap is turning out to be expensive.” Other major manufacturers of pneumatic shipunloaders are watching the progress of the machinery from China and India and feel it will be years before these new competitors can be seen as reliable in the market. At Neuero Industrietechnik in Germany, Managing Director, Tomas Kisslinger, agrees industry concern will grow about the new competition as the Chinese enter the low volume market. However, “experience is needed” and he says it will be some years before customers will give the copycat machinery any references.

Good year

As years go, the big five of the pneumatic shipunloader world say that 2012 was a relatively good one given the prevailing difficult and uncertain global market conditions. Europe continued to lag in an economic slowdown while the money rich Middle East, some Asian countries and Australia enjoyed an increase of purchasing power due to stable fiscal growth. While there has been a hint of recovery in the United States it apparently wasn’t enough to land a single pneumatic shipunloader sale for the major manufacturers . . . or at least none that they can detail. Imports of bulk commodities such as cement have yet to resume and may not be needed again until at least 2015, according to F L Smidth’s David Bergenstock, Sales Manager Pneumatic Transport Systems & Products, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. There were no reported North American pneumatic shipunloader sales for the company in 2012 and none on the horizon in 2013 either.

For the Buhler Group AG of Switzerland, Martin Stoeckling, who as head of the Terminals Department is responsible for port projects, says economic recovery moved a step or two closer in 2012. “We saw an increase in offer volume and in the number of projects during 2012 in all regions,” says Stoeckling. “Other factors like the opening of the extended Panama Canal on the horizon or the change of global transport routes might have inspired customers to think about potential investments,” he adds.

Taking longer

Sadly, reaching the final purchasing decision to buy a pneumatic shipunloader is taking longer these days than in the past. “We had projects pop up at the beginning of 2012 that were still in offer/decision phase at the beginning of 2013,” says Stoeckling. “We have secured some mid- size and larger orders for unloaders and loaders, some of them in markets in Southeast Asia and the Americas.”

For Belgium’s Vigan SA, there’s a brighter outlook in 2013 “with significant sales in North Africa and the Middle East to be confirmed within coming weeks and delivery of large-size machines in South America forecasted for mid-year,” says Commercial Director, Alain de Visscher.

Vigan sees itself as more of a solutions provider for turnkey port developments rather than solely a ship loader/unloader manufacturer. As the company sells both pneumatic and mechanical shipunloaders, de Visscher can list a variety of “port solution” type contract successes from 2012 and into 2013. Among those that included a pneumatic continuous shipunloader was the French Port of Sete where a grain terminal expansion opened in August, 2012, included a 400 tonnes per hour capacity pneumatic unloader for barges and coastal vessels up to 5,000 deadweight tonnes.

For Vigan “all regions continue to be hot,” but projects are frequently long-term – sometimes several years – in coming to reality. For de Visscher there are strong prospects in Africa and Asia as growing populations hungry for grain will mean expanding imports that have to be unloaded in coming years.

At Cargotec Sweden Bulk Handling AB, where the Siwertell bulk handling equipment range is diverse, the company has opted not to concentrate on pneumatic shipunloader sales for the present. “If anyone is interested,” says Communications Manager, Emily Cueva, “we will of course find a solution as we do have the knowledge; however we do not market them (pneumatic shipunloaders) as such.” Meanwhile, Cargotec continues to notch recent sales successes in the large volume Siwertell shipunloaders for unloading coal at a Vietnamese steel plant for the Formosa Petrochemical Corporation and another in Denmark for coal and wood pellet unloading at a Dong Energy power plant.

Lower sales

In Germany, Neuero’s Kisslinger says economic recovery in Europe has been “irrigated” with money in some business areas but public investment remains slow. Neuero reports that in 2012 sales were lower than in 2011, but still at a “good level.” Kisslinger says the company’s investment in research & development is bringing results not only in new equipment but also in retrofitting older equipment from other manufacturers. Thanks to exports of grain from Russia and the Ukraine, Neuero is busy delivering loading equipment there and unloading machinery in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

One notable business success for the company involves Sodrugestvo in Kaliningrad, Russia, where Neuero has been involved in many years of continuous expansion, supplying 300 tph shipunloaders, and new shiploaders and unloaders at 600 tph capacities. Some buyers simply prefer to do it their way. At Richards Bay Terminal in South Africa last July a custom-built “giant” pneumatic shipunloader was offloaded for Transnet Port Terminals as part of a R33 billion equipment renewal project being phased over seven years. Built by Rio Tinto Alcan Alesa Engineering Ltd, of Switzerland, the pneumatic unloader is only the seventh of its kind in the world and can suck up alumina and pet coke at a blistering 1,000 tonnes an hour with a homogenous and dust-reduced material flow.

Innovation

And while markets may not be as vibrant as desirable for the big makers of pneumatic shipunloaders, some haven’t been sitting idle and innovation has come to the fore.

Turbo power has the team at Neuero excited and Kisslinger says the company’s new big machines are now also equipped with a special drive connecting in the same shaft with the impellers bringing “no mechanical transmission losses.” It also has monitoring systems in place for bearing and winding temperature along with bearing vibration. “Compared to traditional roots blowers there are energy savings of 20% depending on installation,” says Kisslinger. Neuro’s R&D team is continuously developing new components for its own machines and for retrofitting other makes such as:

·         Own winch design

·         Hardox conveying pipes made without cross welding

·         Rotary airlocks, conventional and belt styles

No wonder Kisslinger contends that pneumatic shipunloaders with their vacuum suction are the most environmentally fr
iendly equipment in the bulk handling market. The machines lose out in only one area against the competitors such as mechanical or grab cranes and that is energy consumption because of factors such as higher belt speeds. But, these days, pneumatic shipunloaders are bridging the difference bit by bit thanks to innovations such as the new turbo power blowers with frequency inverters. “Offering the lowest noise and dust levels, added to safety advantages, pneumatic shipunloaders are the first choice for applicable products,” says Kisslinger.

Significant improvements

At Vigan, where machine advances are part of a policy of continuous improvement, de Visscher notes that over the past 10-15 years there have been significant advances made in reducing the energy consumption of pneumatic shipunloaders. “Globally speaking,” he says, “it is about 30% less energy per unloaded ton than 15 years ago.”

Vigan’s main targets for its innovators are:

·         Reliability: engineering, design, choice of top quality materials and components

·         Global performance: better unloading rates and average efficiency

·         Costs: maintenance, labour, energy

·         Environment: noise and dust levels

·         Safety at all levels: by following the most strict international rules

Van Aalst hasn’t been sitting back in the innovation department, either, and the Dutch firm has built on “the existing advantages” of its hurricane aeration system and pinch valves (low maintenance costs) by introducing a new type of vacuum pump with even lower power consumption. The first pneumatic shipunloaders were manufactured at the end of the 19th Century. Today, thanks to continuous improvements over the decades they offer 5-10% higher average efficiency over mechanical unloaders under similar working conditions on the smaller-sized vessels. However, while this type of shipunloader appears to have held its own ever since in the bulk materials handling low volume segment of the market as a lower cost alternative, there are some dark clouds gathering on the horizon as larger ship sizes and capacities eat away at some of the benefits of this method of bulk unloading. Often, the bigger the vessel, the better the case for using mechanical shipunloaders. This remains a growing concern for the pneumatic shipunloader industry where makers are investing millions in R&D in an attempt to secure their future.