Transshipment in Yerevan was decided to be carried out with the help of a portal system, where it was possible to mobilize it together with the staff. For this purpose, we have done a lot of work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, the Armenian Embassy in Russia, and our customers Fagioli S.p.A and Renco, who have helped us a lot in obtaining entry permits to Armenia for FESCO employees. The project implementation time has shifted, but the customers understood our difficulties and provided all possible assistance and support.

Transshipment in the port of Poti was carried out using two LiebherrLHM550 cranes with a capacity of 100 tons each. To handle our heavy loads, together with Liebherr, a solution was developed to remove the restriction on the lifting capacity of cranes.

When transporting long metal structures with a length of 30 m, it was not possible to conduct route analysis and engineering work, and therefore it was decided to deliver them not by road, as previously planned, but by rail.

In the process of implementing the project, company also faced military actions. On September 27, 2020, martial law was imposed in Armenia. In order not to stop the delivery of goods, as far as possible, company changed routes to safer ones, coordinating them with customers and insurance companies. As a result, due to anti-epidemic measures and military actions, there was a delay in the implementation of the project for 1 -1.5 months, but the project was implemented.

Valery Smolyaninov, Barrus Projects company head of the project implementation department, talked about the specifics of an autoclave weighing 1,100 tons from Europe to Amursk delivery project. He said that the company faced with the task of delivering an autoclave with a length of about 50 m, a diameter of 6.5 m and a height of 7.5 m from Belgium to the installation site on the territory of the Amur Hydrometallurgical Plant in Amursk. The autoclave is unique for the Russian Federation, for the gold mining industry. It contains unique technologies that will allow the processing of twice-resistant gold-bearing ores. Now this concentrate is taken out for export.

The autoclave itself was manufactured for three years by order of the Polymetal mining company. Even before the start of its production, we began to analyze and prepare the route. The transportation itself took two months.

In Belgium, the autoclave was transported by water through the channels to the port of Antwerp, loaded on the ocean vessel, which through the Suez Canal to deliver the cargo to the port of De-Kastri, where the company made road handling on largebalcony train, which is to say anymore because without the barges we would not be able to carry out the unloading of the autoclave at a marina near the city of Amursk.

The barge was chartered by the marine rescue service. This is a large-capacity barge with its own ballast system, which allows you to automatically adjust the roll during cargo operations. There are only two of them in Russia. significant dimensions make it stable and safe. At the preparation stage, all worn-out ship equipment was replaced, new mooring ends were purchased, and the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping inspected.

The cornerstone of the entire project is unloading in Amursk. To solve the main problem – the colossal water level changes in the Amur River – a mooring structure was developed, only the project of which took more than a year. it was necessary to guarantee the unloading of the autoclave this year, considering water drops of up to 5 m. We could work with the water level by the pier itself and the barge.

Two sets of ramps were prepared for the mooring structure: the first 12-meter set was laid from the foundations on the shore on a transition (support) table, which stood on 12 m stilts from the water’s edge. Transition panels were installed on the table, and a second set of ramps was laid from the support table from the middle of the axis to the barge. In total, we got 24 m of ramps and could adjust the height of the support table due to the P-shaped metal structures.

The barge saved the situation. He said when they came to the pier in Amursk, they faced a huge problem: the water level was above the historical maximum. we came to the option of ballasting, which would allow unloading with a large trim, filled all the ballast tanks, except for one, that is, we put the barge exceptionally low and carefully rolled out the road train for about 12 hours in increments of 75-100 cm.

In Amursk, the autoclave was driven on public roads. The customer insisted on upgrading the infrastructure because next year there will still be deliveries. They carried out reconstruction of power lines, 11 km road patching, reconstructed two heating mains. At the installation site, the autoclave was installed at a mark of +4 m on anchors with tolerances of 2 mm.

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