German heavy lift company Combi Lift has ordered a total of 19 specially customised shallow draught vessels from the Damen Shipyards group. The vessels will be used to transport oversized and heavy lift cargo for Gazprom's gas processing plant project in Amur in the Russian Far East. The multiple vessel order comprises four multi-purpose workboats, four pusher tugs, seven pontoons and four side floaters.
Combi Lift's role in the Gazprom Amur Gas Processing Plant Project will be to transport over 176,000 tonnes of cargo from different production locations, over the sea to Russia and along the Amur and Zeya Rivers to the end-destination.
The project involves some significant heavy river transportation. Included in Combi Lift's scope of work is the lifting and transportation of twelve columns, each weighing 900 tonnes. Furthermore, certain stretches of the Amur and Zeya Rivers can be very shallow. These conditions can also be compounded with severe weather conditions and winter ice.
Due to the specific demands of the local environmental conditions and the project itself, Damen is making a number of adaptations to these vessels from its standardised portfolio. The vessels' overall weight will be reduced and both length and width increased to achieve reduced draught and increased buoyancy. A raisable wheelhouse will be also mounted to give a clear and safe overview of the deck and cargo.
The side floaters will be used as lateral ballastable buoyancy modules in order to obtain a shallow draught for the pontoons when loaded with cargo.
Construction of the vessels will take place at Damen Yichang Shipyard in China and Damen Shipyards Gorinchem and Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld in the Netherlands.
