Case Studies
Intermarine Moves Two Giant Cold Boxes
Intermarine, the managing agent of Industrial Maritime carriers, moved two more giant cold boxes from a shallow draft dock in New Iberia, Louisiana to Point Fortin, Trinidad. The boxes, weighing more than 500 metric tons each, are critical components for the Atlantic LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) train expansion project in Trinidad .
Although the fabrication facility in New Iberia is waterside, the fact that its dock has a maximum 12-foot draft precludes most ocean vessels from accessing the plant. Generally, cargo moves from the facility by barge. However, safety concerns about handling and delivery requirements of the modules eliminated the use of a barge for this move. Instead, Intermarine positioned one of its semi-submersible Ro-Ro vessels, the Condock III to handle the shipment.
The Condock III, a 4400 DWT Ro-Ro, Flo-Flo vessel with a fully laden draft of less than six meters was ideally suited to handle such heavy and over dimensional modules from such a shallow draft dock. The vessel’s 87.5 meters long unobstructed hold provided an excellent vehicle to carry the cold boxes along with the multi-axle transporters used to move the boxes on and off the ship. Over the construction period, Intermarine successfully moved six of the huge cold boxes for the ALNG plant in Trinidad .