The move involved the dismantling of Camp 1, south of Eneabba in Western Australia, and the relocation of the core units – kitchen/dining room, wet mess, laundries – plus 28 accommodation units to the new Camp 3 location, 140 km north of Gascoyne Junction on the Minnie Creek Station. The distance between Camp 1 and Camp 3 was 950 km.

A 950 km camp move could well be a first for the pipeline industry; however the nature of the looping project calls for such distances between camps.

Firstly, under the direction of Frank and Gino Martino, APC set up their ‘Silver Bullet’ ultra mobile two donga accommodation and messing mini-camp at Camp 3, which included accommodation for 14 people. Within one hour of arrival at the Camp 3 location, the ‘Silver Bullet’ was fully operational with power and water supplies installed.

The camp installation crew was catered for by Frank Martino, whose catering expertise came to the fore - there were no complaints about the quality and quantity of food prepared for the installation crew! In liaison with Nacap KT’s Camp Manager – Joe Ashton, Gino, Frank and the crew had everything in place by the end of the day.

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The time frame, bearing in mind the distance involved, was very tight. Dismantling Camp 1 commenced on 19 May with completion of Camp 3 scheduled for 27 May. Frank organised 23 trucks for this operation, six belonging to APC and the others supplied by sub-contractors. Further pressure was placed on APC’s resources as Camp 2 was still in operation. Additional equipment for handling the installation at Camp 3 was mobilised from the company’s headquarters in Adelaide.

But the challenge was met, and on 27 May Camp 3 was fully operational with 136 rooms prepared, along with the kitchen/diner and most importantly the wet mess, fully commissioned together with laundries and gymnasium.

All in all it was quite a challenge, and what APC likes to call ‘a moving experience’.

This project proved that Frank, Gino and the whole APC crew have a ‘can do’ attitude to such challenges, and are always ready and willing to improvise, adapt and overcome, showing once again why they are the leaders in their field.