Westlink Logistics was sub-contracted by pipe supply contractor Marubeni-Itochu Tubulars Oceania (MITO) to transport pipe for the South West Queensland Pipeline (SWQP) Expansion, from Kuantan, Malaysia, to Australia.

“Westlink Logistics’ scope of work involved receiving trucked pipe at the port of Kuantan in Malaysia, where the pipe was coated. It was then the company’s responsibility to inspect, load, lash and dunnage the pipe on the vessel. The pipe was then shipped to Brisbane and discharged from the vessel to the customer’s road transport operation,” said Westlink Logistics’ Glenn Bickley.

Westlink Logistics executed two shipments of 18 m, dual-layer fusion-bonded epoxy (FBE) coated lengths. The first shipment comprised 5,569 lengths with a total weight of 10,134 t. The second was 6,669 joints and weighed 11,175 t. A total of 250 km of pipeline was carried by two handy-size, single deck, open hatch, box hold, geared bulk carriers. Both built in November 2009, the ships are about 32,000t deadweight.

Planning ahead

Westlink Logistics’ project team arrived in Malaysia prior to the transportation of pipe to thoroughly plan and prepare for the project. In addition, the company conducted extensive interviews with local agents, the Malaysian coating facility and stevedores, along with MITO and Epic Energy to ensure that their plans for the project had received approval from all parties before the commencement of works.

A flexible approach

The original arrangement with MITO was for the shipments to be delivered to South Australia’s Port Pirie, which has very specific draft restrictions. As a result, ship selection was based not only on pipe transport capacity, but around meeting these restrictions.

However, two weeks prior to shipping, it was requested that the pipe be shipped to Brisbane instead of Port Pirie due to heavy rainfall in South Australia on the western end of the pipeline spread, where construction was initially to commence. In order to avoid the floods, Epic Energy changed its construction plans to start from the eastern end requiring pipe to be delivered into Brisbane. Westlink Logistics adjusted its shipping plan, demonstrating flexibility within its working program.

“This was not a challenge for Westlink Logistics as the company worked closely with MITO and Epic Energy and maintained good communication throughout the weeks leading up to the pipe delivery,” said Mr Bickley. “In addition, Westlink had previously delivered to Brisbane so the company was able to utilise existing working relationships with port authorities.”

All hands on deck

Alongside a team of approximately 30 sub-contractors, an Operations Manager and Project Manager were present as pipe was loaded aboard the vessels in Malaysia, and when the vessels arrived in Brisbane. According to Mr Bickley, “Westlink Logistics’ Port Captain, aided by three assistants, supervised the loading operations to ensure adherence to the client’s strict quality standards.”

Westlink Logistics’ dedicated project team, in which the same employees were responsible for same roles for the entire duration of the project, contributed to the smooth execution of the loading and discharge of the pipe in Brisbane. This team had previously delivered over 100,000t of pipe for the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline, which enabled them to gain valuable experience that could be applied during the execution of this delivery.

Challenges

The main challenge for Westlink Logistics during this operation was to ensure that minimal transport damage occurred and that the quality of the coated pipe was maintained. To address this concern, each pipe was visually inspected prior to being loaded for shipping. “If a problem was detected, a coating expert would perform a second inspection, using technology such as a holiday detector,” explained Mr Bickley. “The end result was less than 0.5 per cent damage to the pipe with no lost time injuries.”

For more information on Westlink Logistic services visit www.westlinklogistics.com