Load Shackle Serves Port, Returns for Inspection

Dynamic Rigging Hire (DRH) supplied a 25t Wireless Loadshackle and a 20t girder trolley, which combined with a 16t air hoist, for remediation work beneath a fuel terminal jetty at Port Bonython in

Dynamic Rigging Hire (DRH) supplied a 25t Wireless Loadshackle and a 20t girder trolley, which combined with a 16t air hoist, for remediation work beneath a fuel terminal jetty at Port Bonython in South Australia.

The deepwater port is adjacent to Point Lowly in the Upper Spencer Gulf region, the westernmost of two large inlets on the southern coast of Australia. Port Bonython is a hydrocarbon processing plant and is named after Santos’ founding chairman, John Bonython, Opened in 1982, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) production commenced in 1984 and with it the first export to Japan. The inherent nature of the site presented challenging conditions for DRH, which collaborated with fellow Victoria-based company Hoisting Equipment Specialist (Vic) Pty Ltd (HES) to deliver the three-week hire solution. The Wireless Loadshackle is particularly suited to low headroom applications, for example, while additional features include its hard anodised aluminium electronics enclosure and an internal chassis providing IP67 / NEMA6 environmental protection even with the battery cover plate missing. The girder trolley was also supplied with marine conditions in mind.

DRH frequently facilitates provision of a wide range of rigging equipment to a diverse client base including crane, construction, engineering, manufacturing, offshore and service projects. In this case, the load shackle and the girder trolley were sent with its freight provider to the nearest distribution centre, from where the undisclosed client collected it and completed transportation to site.

Ross Johnson, general manager at DRH, said: “Integral to our service is delivery of the best solution based on a customer’s requirements. We were indebted to Dean Nelson [managing director at HES] and his team, who were able to leverage their position in the marketplace to help us assemble the right package for the Port Bonython corrective work.” Nelson is also a director of DRH, Johnson pointed out. The Port Bonython hire project served as an exemplar of DRH’s strict policy to verify all force measurement, load monitoring and suspended weighing load cell equipment upon its return from site, before redistribution to other projects. DRH used a steel test weight and a 3.5t capacity Mitsubishi lift truck to inspect the 25t Wireless Loadshackle. Johnson said: “It’s vitally important to ensure the load cell is functioning correctly with no signs of it being overloaded or other visual defects. The load shackle is exceptionally accurate; during the inspection process we had only 1,020kg of weight on a 25t device so the loadings were in the lower range of the load cell.”