Damaged by Cyclone Yasi in February 2011, Queensland Sugar Limited’s 5 km long jetty and bulk sugar loader at Lucinda, 150 km north of Townsville, will be back in action by April 2012, thanks to an intense and complex, fast-track program of repair works. Abergeldie was awarded the $30 000 000 contract in September 2011, allowing just six months to get the jetty and loader up and running again before the next sugar harvesting season begins.
Nearly all of the works will be carried out at heights, over water, up to 5 km out to sea, and sometimes under water, demolishing and repairing unstable, damaged structures, services and equipment. Getting the job done to the high standards demanded and within the time allowed will be no small challenge. But for the Abergeldie team, the greater the challenge, the greater the opportunity to excel.
Because the damaged jetty and loader structures are unstable, specialised marine access, work platform and lifting equipment will be used. The key element will be a Sea Lift 4 jack-up barge, with a capacity of up to 250t, supported by four hydraulic “spud” legs. The Sea Lift 4 can provide a stable work platform above the high water level in depths up to 36 meters. It will be delivered to the site by road, in 26 standard semi-trailer loads. A 150t lattice jib crawler crane will work from the jack-up barge platform. The list of specialised marine equipment also includes two shuttle barges and the 1,200 HP “Black Panther” 24 m utility vessel to move them around. The tug, barges and crane will enable a complex array of gantries and access platforms to be erected to enable repairs to the wharf and jetty cladding to proceed.
About Abergeldie
Abergeldie is a civil engineering contractor with over 25 years’ experience providing services in the utilities, energy and infrastructure sectors: the complex infrastructure needed to build better communities.
