Klaipėdos Nafta installs unique marine loading equipment
KN (‘AB Klaipėdos Nafta’), the operator of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, says it has started the installation of marine loading equipment (MLE) for loading oil products to and from tankers in the quay currently being reconstructed by Klaipėda State Seaport Authority. KN will start operating this quay later this year. The new MLE will strengthen the company’s position in the regionю
At present, the main MLE construction – the frame of the MLE has been installed in the reconstructed part of quay No. 1 and the installation works of the equipment — installation of product reloading hoses, jib crane, electricity, automation and other components — are being continued. At the reconstructed quay, this MLE will be available when other necessary equipment, namely pipelines with control fittings, fire extinguishing and other systems ensuring the safe operation of the oil terminal, are installed. This equipment will be able to simultaneously load up to five different types of products into one tanker.
The equipment will allow for the handling while simultaneously using five marine hoses and a sixth hose for the outflow of BOG (boil-off gas). All installed equipment and systems will need to be inspected and tested out. The use of the quay section is expected to start in the last quarter of 2021.
‘From our perspective, the KN Klaipėda oil terminal has been equipped with the most advanced oil product handling equipment in the Baltic Sea region. Its essence is simplicity, and the principles of the belt tension control mechanism have been tested over time for the operation of the hoses. The installed construction is more reliable in unfavourable metrological conditions than the currently used handling devices. Reconstruction of berth and new loading equipment will strengthen the KN’s position in the Baltic Sea region, as we will be able to load vessels with higher draft faster. The reconstruction of the quay also ensures the continuity of the activity of the KN oil terminal, as the main construction of the quay currently in use were installed back in 1962. It is important to note that the technical characteristics of marine loading equipment will help maintain high environmental requirements, as well as increase the handling efficiency and the range of handled products’, comments Dainius Čiuta, Chief Operations Officer at KN.
On behalf of KN, Norwegian and Lithuanian companies are carrying out the work as it pertains to the design, manufacture and installation of the MLE. This equipment is unique not only in its operating principles, but also in the fact that KN’s employees have also contributed their competencies and insights to improve the quality of the equipment at the production stage.
