Boskalis showpiece prepares for a ‘light load’ of Fremantle Highway
The Boka Vanguard, the showpiece of the Boskalis fleet, will transport the fire-stricken Fremantle Highway to China on Thursday 17 October. An order that the Papendrecht company only received at the beginning of September. Project Cargo Journal’s sister website Schuttevaer was allowed to take a look at the preparations on board the semi-submersible heavy-lift ship.
The Boka Vanguard arrived at the Caland Canal in Rotterdam on Friday, October 11. This is also the place where the Fremantle Highway will be floated onboard this Monday, October 14. On the 275-metre long and 70-metre wide deck, it is already clear where the ship will be positioned. A wooden structure is ready on the grey surface. “It is shaped to the shape of the Fremantle Highway,” explains Ronald Goetheer, director of operations at the heavy maritime cargo division of Boskalis. Various steel and wooden components are positioned across the gray surface. These components will secure the ship during its almost 60-day journey to China.
The wooden structure is not in the middle of the grey area, but more on the starboard side of the ship. “There were still poles on the starboard side from the previous transport, which was convenient.” These poles serve to keep the ship in position. The previous transport was that of the FPU Opportunity, a floating platform for oil and gas extraction, from Singapore to Turkey. The transport of the 300-metre-long FPU Opportunity shows the unique strength of the Boka Vanguard. The ship has an open and flat stern and a deck without a bow. The vessel is capable of transporting ships that exceed its own length of 270 meters. There are four towers on its deck, with the bridge concealed within the forward tower on the starboard side. The rest of the deck is a spacious grey expanse. “Unique in the world,” says Boskalis spokesman Martijn Schuttevaer.
‘Light load’
The 200-meter-long Fremantle Highway will not stick out. The transport is therefore considered a ‘light load’ by the Boskalis crew. The ship, which now weighs 17,000 tons – part of the ship was removed after the fire – is much smaller compared to the 116,175 tons that the Boka Vanguard can handle. By the way, the record is 92,000 tons when it transported the Petrobras P-70 FPSO from China to Brazil.
Boskalis had a relatively short preparation time for this ‘light cargo’. “We were approached at the beginning of September,” says project manager Arien Fries. “That’s short notice.” Fortunately for Boskalis, the Boka Vanguard was available quickly, although that turned out not to be a stroke of luck. “Project cargoes partly consist of fixed orders that can be planned well in advance,” explained Goetheer. “For example, this could involve transporting parts of a wind farm or a new FPSO.” These types of orders are scheduled in the Boskalis agenda months, if not years, in advance. “However, there is also a spot market.” Boskalis had been keeping an eye out and knew that the ship would need to go to China at some point. The previous order had ended in Turkey, which was relatively nearby, and the ship needed to be in China for maintenance in December. The transport of the Fremantle Highway fit perfectly into the schedule.
It is not surprising that Boskalis knows the situation of the Fremantle Highway well. It played an important role in the salvage of the burning car carrier last July and August. Together with Multraship, Boskalis kept the ship under control above Ameland. Ultimately, it was also Boskalis that towed the ship into the Eemshaven in Groningen.
Olympic swimming pools
On Monday, the Fremantle Highway will be loaded onto the Boka Vanguard. To do this, the Boskalis ship will first have to submerge. The deck will be about six to seven meters underwater on Monday, with only the four towers still protruding about 20 meters above the water. The ship will submerge by filling the ballast water tanks, of which the ship has 93. “Everything except the engine room is ballast tank,” jokes Captain Igor, who leads a crew of 24. The ship is equipped with four ballast pumps, each capable of pumping in 5,300 cubic meters of water per hour. Together, these four pumps can fill eight Olympic swimming pools in just one hour.
After the ship has sunk, the Fremantle Highway can be brought on board. The ship is currently still at Damen Verolme and will be towed via the Nieuwe Waterweg, around the Rozenburg peninsula, to the Caland Canal. This will happen around 12:00 in the afternoon. Four tugboats will then position the ship. “That is crucial,” Goetheer explains, “it has to be aligned properly.” Tugboats are capable, but winches can provide more precise control. Winches are used to secure the cargo to the ship. Tugboats and winches must coordinate to position the Fremantle Highway onto the prepared wooden structure. Boskalis anticipates this process will be finished by the end of Monday.
Ballast water
The ballast water is then pumped out of the tanks in the same manner, and the Boka Vanguard resurfaces with great precision. “We also use those tanks for ballast on the port side. After all, the Fremantle Highway is not in the middle of the ship”, Goetheer explains.
The cargo is then further secured. The route to China passes along the Cape of Good Hope, where there have been numerous recent storms. “We are now approaching summer there, which makes a difference in terms of storms. In the Bay of Biscay, there can be quite a storm during this period,” says Goetheer. Steel and wooden structures have been positioned around the ship on all sides. The main part is welded to the deck, while a smaller part is attached to the ship. If everything goes as planned, the Boka Vanguard, carrying the Fremantle Highway, will depart for China on Thursday. The Fremantle Highway will undergo renovation and be repurposed as a car carrier.
