Baleine Project Ivory Coast
500 ton linear winch C1100
Project description
The Baleine project, in 2023, consisted of the installation of a gas pipeline through a micro tunnel. The tunnel spanned a distance of almost 1 kilometre and had an internal diameter of 1.8 meters. Bezemer Dordrecht was awarded for the scope of providing a linear winch, to pull the gas pipe through the tunnel.
Shaft with sheaves
The winch we provided for this project was our C1100 continuous linear winch with a capacity of 500 Tonnes. In addition to this winch spread, we provided a spare HPU for redundancy to enable a seamless operation. Our winch would be installed in the tunnel shaft, at the end of the tunnel. Bezemer Dordrecht contributed to the layout design and utilized various sheaves and frames to guide the wire out of the shaft to the storage winch on which the pulling wire was stored.
Because of the weight of the pulling wire, in excess of 100 MT including the reel, the transportation to Ivory Coast required special attention.
The reel, which included 2380 meters of 102 mm steel wire rope, had to be transported to the Geocean barge. This barge was situated on the other side of Dordrecht, where the whole spread would start on its sea leg to Ivory Coast. Due to the weight of the reel and the various bridges on the route, road transport to the barge was impossible. To overcome this, we transported the equipment over the rivers around Dordrecht. The winch spread was successfully loaded on the barge and ready for operation in Ivory Coast.
Another successful pull
Our operators on the barge and at the winch in the tunnel shaft provided guidance during the project. As a result, we successfully pulled the gas pipe through the tunnel. This resulted in positive feedback from our client:
“Very professional approach throughout the project life – tender, procurement, execution” – Project manager Baleine Project, CSM Bessac.
At Bezemer, we are proud to be a part of this project and to have delivered a complete solution package that met the needs of our client. If you are looking for a reliable and robust solution package or advice, we would be happy to assist.
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