Australia: Herb Elliott Port Receives Trelleborg’s Quick Release Hooks

Trelleborg has met an exceptionally tight time frame to successfully deliver its state-of-the-art Quick Release Hooks (QRHs) with load monitoring, remote release and a central monitoring system to the Herb Elliott Port in Australia. By delivering ahead of schedule and avoiding the need to equipment by air freight, Trelleborg was also able to save its customer, Fortescue Metals Group Limited (FMG), a substantial amount of money.

Ron Yelland, Superintendent’s Representative at Fortescue, said: “Trelleborg provided remarkable assistance in accelerating the delivery of QRH units, to an extremely tight turnaround time.

“Trelleborg supported us through all phases of the project, from the engineering phase, through manufacturing and assembly, to transportation and commissioning, all without compromising the quality of the final delivered project.”

After initially winning the contract to supply four units back in late 2011, Trelleborg Marine Systems was chosen to supply a further six earlier this year. Fortescue had initially intended to use a competitor’s product in the second stage of the project, but turned to Trelleborg after receiving approval of an additional wharf, resulting in an alternative berthing strategy.

Trelleborg was also able to overcome the issue of restricted space for the remote release console. Having originally only had four units delivered, Fortescue asked Trelleborg to adapt the existing console space to accommodate the additional six units. Trelleborg was able to build a custom solution to meet Fortescue’s requirements.

Richard Hepworth, President of Trelleborg Marine Systems, said: “Being awarded the contract to supply a further six QRHs to Fortescue really substantiated what we already knew about the reliability of our solution. We were also able to meet some really demanding performance requirements for the project.

“To berth the large sizes and varied vessels the port expects; the vertical angle of the hooks had to be extended up to 60 degrees – something very few, if any, competitor products on the market can currently deliver. Due to the change in tide at the port, we were also required to meet a mooring line angle range of -15 to 75 degrees.”

Trelleborg also supplied ten of its SCN1800 cone fenders to the project. Super Cone Fenders (SCN) are the latest generation of ‘cell’ fenders, with optimal performance and efficiency.

The conical body shape makes the SCN very stable even at large compression angles, and provides excellent shear strength. With overload stops the Super Cone marine fender is even more resistant to over-compression.

The Herb Elliott Port expansion project has seen the port extended by an additional two berths, to a total of four. The port has completed a major works program as part of Fortescue’s 9 billion USD expansion to 155 million tonnes per annum.

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Trelleborg, November 26, 2013