From its first project in 1962, the Murban oil field development to Borouge petrochemical complex, Bechtel has been involved with some of the most significant infrastructure projects in the UAE during the last half century. These include Dubai International Airport, one of the world’s largest and busiest airports, as well as a number of major oil and gas, and power projects.

Bechtel’s current projects in the UAE include the Borouge 3 petrochemical complex in Ruwais and the Khalifa port and Kizad (Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi) project.  Khalifa Port is a new-build, semi-automated container port, which is due to open later this year and is destined to become one of the advanced trading hubs in the region alongside a world scale industrial zone.

“Bechtel is proud to have been able to play a part over the last 50 years in helping the United Arab Emirates achieve its ambitions for its citizens. From oil recovery projects, to power plants and infrastructure projects, today the UAE is building its role as a pivotal trading hub for goods and services, with projects such as Khalifa Port and Kizad at the heart of it. The UAE leadership has demonstrated itself to be visionary and wants to see its vision translated into a reality”, said David Welch, president of Bechtel’s Europe, Africa and Middle East regions.

“The UAE has adopted a strategy of fast-paced development, and it has been important for Bechtel to be able to adapt to the changing needs of its customers in the country.  We are committed to delivering a quality product, in a sustainable and safe way, and with an emphasis on training”, added Welch.

As part of its anniversary year, Bechtel is the platinum sponsor of the World Ports Summit taking place on April 2-4 in Abu Dhabi.  David Welch will be speaking on April 2nd as part of a panel discussion on world trade and economics.

Since 1962, Bechtel has completed more than 100 projects in the UAE. Our projects successfully established top-class safety, quality and other programs based on best practices throughout the globe and in compliance with government rules and regulations. We are proud to have employed rigorous on-the-job and formal training of Emirati and international contractors working in the UAE.

The site comprises 8.7 acres (3.52 hectares) of marine industrial land, which includes boatyard facilities, commercial wharfs and 14,850 sq ft (1,380 sq m) of workshops and offices.

The strategic investment by the Commission is aimed at securing the important marine services site and commercial shipping wharf for the long term benefit of the harbour and its stakeholders. It protects the future of the site as a home for a wide range of marine services in Cowes, as well as the Commission’s own harbour services and boatyard operations which have been located at Kingston since 1999.

Kingston Wharf is also of strategic importance to the Isle of Wight as it facilitates the import of bulk oil by ship to the Island’s only oil terminal operated by Pace Petroleum and the aggregate facility operated by Hall Aggregates. These two important wharves are now secured in the custody of Cowes Harbour Commission.

Buying the freehold enables Cowes Harbour Commission to further establish and expand Kingston Marine Boatyard and Kingston Marine Services. KMB and KMS are part of Cowes Harbour Commission, which provide services to boat owners, yacht clubs, marinas and marine operators across the Solent.

Cowes Harbour Master and Chief Executive Stuart McIntosh said: “The negotiations to buy Kingston have been protracted and challenging but finally very worthwhile. The Harbour Commissioners consider securing and maintaining commercial wharves and marine service sites is fundamental to the long term prosperity of the harbour and the local economy. It is vital to continue incremental investment into marine services and infrastructure to ensure that marine business and job creation can continue to prosper in Cowes and the Medina Valley.”

Ian Froome, Partner at Vail Williams LLP commented: “This was an important purchase for the Cowes Harbour Commission and has secured the future of this important site for marine users and operators.”

With a recent assessment of diesel usage confirming savings of up to 25% per crane, this investment in the RIS.GA. system is expected to give a return on investment (ROI) of well under three years!  Ever increasing diesel prices, and the new carbon tax, combine to make the savings very significant. Diesel generators onboard RTGs and mobile harbour cranes (MHCs) usually run at constant speed to provide the drive system and auxiliaries with a constant supply voltage regardless of whether the crane is in operation or stand-by.  RIS.GA. from Control Techniques is a drive-based system that manages the diesel generator, allowing its speed to be reduced during stand-by, whilst maintaining essential power for auxiliary and safety equipment. The dedicated container terminal at the Port of Felixstowe handles over 3 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) per year and over 40% of the UK’s import and export trade passes through the port.  The container storage area is served by a fleet of 74 RTGs and is currently undergoing further development, hence the need for the new cranes. 

The 12 RTGs fitted with the RIS.GA. system are rated at 40 tonnes under the spreader, have a hoist speed of 50 m/min, a trolley speed of 70 m/min, a gantry speed of 140 m/min and each is fitted with a 670 kVA diesel generator.  Each RTG will complete around 100,000 moves per year.

Control Techniques was already quoting the Port of Felixstowe authorities for drive retrofits, and was able to present a convincing case for installing their RIS.GA. system, estimating an ROI of two to three years.

Analysis of the RTG oil samples indicates that periods of idling have not been a problem and that savings have been very substantial, varying with duty up to around 30%, though generally averaging at about 25%.  The RIS.GA. software, pre-loaded onto a 37kVA Unidrive SP AC drive, is set to allow the diesel generators to run on for a minute before initiating run down to tick-over speed.  At tick-over, the diesel generators produce 300 v, which is boosted by the drive with RIS.GA. up to the 415 v required for operation of the auxiliary equipment.  When required, the diesel generator will run up to operational speed in 5 s.

The RIS.GA. system is very compact, and all twelve were supplied fully wired and assembled, and ready to connect in an IP65 protected stainless steel cubicle.  Each is fitted above the electrical house of its crane.  Control Techniques delivered each one when it was convenient to the Port of Felixstowe’s Engineering Department and carried out all of the electrical installation and programming.  As it is a static electronic system, it requires little or no maintenance.

RIS.GA. has been applied successfully on RTGs and MHCs throughout the world and is saving fuel on cranes manufactured by ZPMC, Kalmar, MGM-OMG, Doosan and Fantuzzi Reggiane.  In many cases, savings can be as much as 50% with ROI as short as one to two years, depending on local oil costs.  Proven reduced wear and stress extends the working life of the diesel engine, generator and electrical auxiliaries.

Control Techniques is part of Emerson Industrial Automation and has almost 30 years’ experience in supplying complete automation systems for port and factory cranes.  The company’s automation systems are proven in ports around the world and are supported by a global engineering network of specialist Drive Centres.

The Port of Felixstowe provides customers with a continuous quay of over 2.3 km, is equipped with 27 ship-to-shore (STS) gantry cranes, and has a further 730 m of quay and five more STS gantry cranes coming on line this year.  When completed, the reconfiguration of the southern part of the port will further enhance Felixstowe’s position as one of the leading container ports in the world.

“This project will provide greater flexibility in moving oversized roll-on/roll-off cargo at Colonel’s Island,” said GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz. “It will increase efficiency, and lower long-term maintenance costs by providing a more durable surface for moving and staging these heavy cargos.”

The project, estimated to cost $2.8 million, will provide structural upgrades for roads, bridges, staging areas and rail loading/offloading areas. The project is in support of the nation’s fifth busiest port for total import-export of Ro/Ro cargo, and the third busiest port for the export of U.S.-made vehicles and machinery.

For fiscal year 2012 through February, Colonel’s Island has handled 330,709 units, and 641,408 tons of autos and machinery, for a 10 percent increase year over year. During the same period last fiscal year, Colonel’s Island handled 301,345 units and 581,479 tons of Ro/Ro cargo. In all of FY2011, Brunswick handled 897,152 tons of autos and machinery.

In Savannah, the Board considered recent efforts to accommodate strong growth in the movement of refrigerated cargo.

The first half of a 20-unit expansion in refrigerated container racks is now in operation. The other 10 will go into use by April. Each new rack will accommodate 24 refrigerated containers, for a total of 480 containers of added capacity. With these new units, the GPA will have a total of 64 refrigerated container racks in service, accommodating 1,536 boxes. For every ten racks placed into service, the GPA saves about 540,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually, which otherwise would have been used to power diesel generators.

The Port of Savannah is adding the racks in order to stay ahead of rising demand for frozen poultry and produce exports. In February, the GPA handled 5,496 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) of refrigerated goods, a 14.4 percent increase over the same month last year, which saw 4,803 TEUs. For fiscal year 2012 to date, that number is 45,733, a 16.7 percent increase over the same period in FY2011, which marked 39,166 TEUs.

Most of the refrigerated container business is in poultry, an $18.4 billion per year business in Georgia, according to the University of Georgia.

“As the top container port for American poultry exports, this expansion will not only grow the Port of Savannah’s capacity, but produce additional opportunity to export U.S.-grown products to the world,” said GPA Board Chairman Alec Poitevint.

Nearly 40 percent of America’s poultry exports move through the Port of Savannah, with Hong Kong, Angola, Georgia and China ranking as the top receiving nations.