Technology: The Incredible Journey of a Dredge through the Jungle

increasing global demand for energy and commodities drives the oil gas and mining industries major innovations in these global industries are the domain of a select few they include the Dutch dredging and marine expert Royal bus Calais Westminster boasts Calais is a leading global dredging marine expert with safety is a core value the company delivers innovative sustainable and all-in solutions for clients projects and remote locations with a strong environmental focus are a speciality but now boasts Calais is facing a new and challenging project which seems like an almost impossible mission how to get this huge dredging vessel to this lake on board of this transport ship crossing thousands of miles of ocean and rivers and this landscape in these conditions to its final destination a bauxite mine in the heart of the jungle of Suriname Scirocco an indirect joint subsidiary of Alcoa and Alameda Limited awarded Wisc Alice on contract for mining bauxite inlay lead or near para Mary Ball the project will run from early 2012 to early 2015 bauxite is a valuable raw material from which aluminium is produced the bauxite is located deep in the swamp area under a thick layer of soft and stiff clay this is a delicate mining challenge efficiency is vital time is of the essence and safety is priority number one Bossk Alice sees the lady dork job as a total mining project the clay on top of the bauxite has to be removed before the ore can be excavated and taken to the Sirocco Factory nearby there is approximately 20 million cubed meters of this overburden material once the dredging work has been done the mine pit will be pumped dry allowing the drier earth moving equipment to remove the remaining clay on top of the bauxite finally about 3.8 million tons of bauxite will be ready for mining the key tool is a cutter suction dredger the Orion a specialized high production vessel with the capacity to expose the precious raw material the Orion will be accompanied by two smaller supporting vessels for booster station energy three and the multi cat argus one but before the Orion reaches Suriname a long ocean voyage ways in a Bugatti the Orion waits to be shipped on board of this giant vessel the rolled oxy a multifunctional transporter for heavy cargo that could manage semi submersible operations it can be loaded using a unique combination of float in and roll off a water depth of 10 meters is needed to load the Orion once in position the Orion is lowered onto cargo cribbing supports the ballast tanks could now be emptied to refloat the rolled oxy which now embraces its cargo above the water the argus and the orion are now fastened into place ready for the voyage to Suriname Paramaribo the capital of the Republic of Suriname in the northeast of South America Suriname covers a hundred and sixty four thousand square kilometers it ranks as the 17th richest country in the world thanks to its natural resources and precious raw material like gold oil and bauxite after 30 days on the ocean the rolled oxy and its cargo reach their destination moving up the wide suriname river the roll dock sails inland to the final destination at the Sirocco dock where large ships line up to load their cargoes of alumina which has been processed from bauxite at the refinery a landing platform was built specially to unload the Orion to steel towers measuring 8 meters by 825 meters apart with a recessed u-shaped platform between them the rolled oxy needs the full width of the river to move astern into its new dock three anchor wires pull the vessel into place between the two steel towers once the rolled oxy is secured between the towers its ballast tanks are empty so the tailgate is level with the land for the next stage of this giant operation both scow is called in a global specialist mahmud a worldwide leading tailor may transporting and heavy lifting specialists with its main office in the Netherlands before the Orion can be rolled off the support vessel energy three and the Argos need to move out the Orion reaches the shore now the second stage of the mobilization starts the most challenging part of the whole operation on two sets of multi wheeled platform trailers together with seventy-six axle lines and 608 tires the Orion will face numerous obstacles on her road to the final destination 12 kilometers away the buscamos team is ready the team has a detailed mobilization schedule to eliminate any surprises a survey team has made maps of the entire area 500 hectares of roads swamps lakes and jungle new roads have been built and every band on the transport route subjected to intense scrutiny and calculations some sections of the road have been covered with 20 millimeter steel plates 12 metres long the Orion lumbers along the roads smoothly but now for the first major obstacle to electricity cables both vital for the power supply in large sections of Paramaribo the Orion is 15 metres high and she can't slip underneath so the first electricity cable needs to be lifted using telescopic cranes before the ship can get past engineers from the electricity company work against the clock now the Orion is ready to cross the main road the local people turn out to watch there is an unexpected delay disconnecting the power cables from the second pylon the workers are having problems with the thick cables traffic use pile up and the crowd is getting excited finally after two hours the last power cable is cut the convoy gets back on the move the team's worst nightmare comes true tropical rains lash down non-stop the road surface turns muddy and slippery the trailers beneath the huge vessel struggled to maintain traction extra steel plates are needed to keep the convoy on the road and on the move even on the worsening road the operation can stop the clock is ticking any more delays will be a disaster it's still a long way to go the next obstacle is already looming ahead and everything still has to be done in the safest possible way four and a half kilometers later a new big challenge the Parra bridge an extremely narrow bridge requiring absolute precision but the team has no worries detailed engineering investigations before the operation and heavy-duty reinforcements for the bridge mean it's now strong enough to take the 21 hundred ton load of the Orion and it's trailers the bridge requires extra strengthening to handle the law five additional support beams measuring 22 metres each are placed alongside the existing piles the moment arrives boasts Calais Mahmud and an over vibe and the engineering team meet for a last brief discussion of safety measures and critical factors game on slowly the Orion comes alive 1,600 horsepower pushes the train forward the men are tense but alert the team breathes a sigh of relief the Orion has made it so far so good but there is still no time to celebrate the next challenge looms a low bridge a special bypass is needed so the Orion can move around it will take all the power of the trailers and an incredible number of steel plates to get the Orion up and down the slippery and muddy raft in a complex project like the Orion mobilization safety and protection our top priority strict rules are needed when hundreds of people go to working in a potentially dangerous environment at Bosque Alice safety is a core value which is why the company has its Neenah policy no injuries no accidents PPE is mandatory everybody wear steel toe rigging boots hard hats - jackets no injuries no accidents after nine point nine kilometers the Orion is entering the final stage of its grueling journey in heavy rain and harsh temperatures but now the most challenging part of the entire operation has arrived the Orion has to move to the mine ramp to reach its final destination launching the Orion and it's supporting vessels into the way leader Blake is an unusual and complex operation a launch pit has to be built a range of geotechnical tests and measurements take place to provide a stable drive path the dredging giant will be placed on blocks 1.5 metres tall then the Mamu trailers will be carefully taken out from under before water is pumped into the launch pit returning it to its original level of three and a half NS be the vessels are ready to float pessimistic weather forecasts for the days ahead hang like dark clouds over the entire operation more delays threaten the subsoil of the downward slope has been exposed to heavy rainfall turning the dock into a risky slide all available plates will be needed to keep a grip now the expertise of both bas Calais and marut is tested to the full some delicate maneuvering is needed to move the Orion into a straight line with a dock slope disaster strikes one of the axles breaks the steel plates cut like knives into the tires and make them explode other tires disappear into deep holes of mud both teams step on the break and get together for a brief meeting this is a critical decision should they bring the Orion back to her original position on the haul road or move forward mooring clouds appear above the lake moving back could delay everything for days before weather conditions allow a new attempt or after they move on with two tires and one axle less the toons are experienced professionals they conduct a safety hazard analysis the calculated safety margin means the Orion is ready to move again three hours later the dredger has been lowered to its final destination in launching pad the Orion the Argos and the energy three are now ready for their mission over the next 80 weeks for both cows the successful mobilization of the Orion is a major step forward in this innovative total mining project once again boasts Calais has made the impossible possible you you

Channel: Visuals Studio Brazil

Views: 1,127,057

Rating: 4.4456491 out of 5

Keywords: Panasonic, Visuals Studio Brazil, documentary, Netherlands, dredging, Ernst Daniel Nijboer, mining, Lelydorp, Rio de Janeiro, photography, director in Brazil, television, Final Cut Pro, Brazil (Country), producer in Brazil, Royal Boskalis Westminster (Business Operation), Suriname (Country), Giant Machines, Brazilie, Mammoet, Rolldock, Giant, Mighty, bauxite, Gopro, onshore, Megastructures, journalist in Rio, Nijboer, Documentary (TV Genre), National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel

Id: dxhISrEI1N8

Length: 17min 17sec (1037 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 07 2012

Reddit Comments

[u/Kerrentonsnow]

Just watched the whole thing. Very impressive, but damn I hate when the voice over guy exaggerates every time crunch, delay and possible disaster situation. Lol that first ship that lowers into the water to pick up the smaller, still huge, ship, is really amazing.

[u/yes_my_ass_is_sore]

Ah I recently worked on buildings to be transported. Similarly to those.

[u/PigeonSuperstition]

I love being an engineer, very impressive.