JSI Alliance has completed a heavy-lift installation campaign at Dahej in India after mobilising the heavy-lift vessel Jumbo Javelin for work on a new liquid cargo berth being built by Afcons Infrastructure Limited for Gujarat Chemical Port Ltd, according to a JSI Alliance press release.
The job covered the installation of eight jackets and 15 berthing dolphins, each weighing between 500 and 600 t, at an outreach of 10 m.
The site posed a difficult mooring and lifting challenge, with a 10 m tidal rise, currents of up to 5 kn and a sandy seabed that made many conventional mooring options unsuitable. The work also had to be carried out without interrupting two live berths, creating severe space restrictions.
JSI Alliance fitted Jumbo Javelin with a flyjib during a 15-day mobilisation that began on 3 November. The vessel was also equipped with an eight-point mooring spread using 17 t anchors and 64 mm and 52 mm mooring lines with a minimum breaking load of about 300 t per line. Custom-made 250 t winches were installed, with eight winches used instead of four to provide back-up wire, safety and redundancy. Extra steel was added to the vessel to absorb the forces involved.
Anchor handling support vessels installed the mooring spread during four-hour tidal windows, when current speeds were at their lowest.
Once connected, Jumbo Javelin remained in position for several days at a time to avoid disrupting berth operations. The first loadout began on 3 December at Dighi Port. Jumbo Javelin made six voyages, installed the final item on 14 March and then returned to Dighi Port for demobilisation, which took seven and a half days. The vessel later sailed to Singapore to return equipment to suppliers. Discharge was completed in two days, and the project was fully completed on 6 April.
Jumbo is a family-owned company with shipping and offshore divisions. Jumbo is part of the JSI Alliance alongside SAL and SAL Intermarine.
JSI Alliance is a maritime transport alliance combining the resources and capabilities of its members.
