DSV Delivers 950-Tonne Fractionator to Indonesia

Denmark-based forwarder DSV was recently hired by Hyundai Engineering to deliver a 950-tonne crude oil fractionator column from Kuantan in Malaysia to Balikpapan in Indonesia.

The fractionator, which took six days to arrive, was destined for the Balikpapan oil refinery, which is currently undergoing a major overhaul to boost crude processing capacity from 260,000 bpd to 360,000 bpd.

The refit is part of Indonesia’s Refinery Development Master Plan, or RDMP, a long-term project to boost the capacity and competitiveness of five oil refineries throughout the Southeast Asian country and reduce costly fuel imports.

“It is rare to see a component as heavy as the one we were asked to transport for Hyundai Engineering,” said Brian Kim, director of APAC Projects at DSV.

“For this reason, the main challenge of this assignment was to find a suitable vessel that had the necessary lifting capacity and was big enough to stow this massive cargo. Furthermore, it had to be able to accommodate the tidal condition when being loaded and discharged at the ports.

“In order to make this shipment possible, we were in close contact with the DSV Global Chartering department, who are often a crucial support to us whenever we need to transport complex cargo. They were able to help us find a suitable vessel, equipped with two units of 900-tonne cranes on board, that could tandem lift the main fractionator column. Once the vessel was secured, our transport engineers in projects could then work out the detailed lifting plan.”

DSV also had to contend with a tight deadline of just one month after contracts were signed.

This move coincided with Hari Raya Aidilfitri, a festival season celebrated by Muslims worldwide and a time when many government agencies in Malaysia and Indonesia close for almost a week.

This left the projects team with just three weeks to plan the shipment, acquire the necessary permits and prepare the shipping manual and method statement.

“This successful transport was the result of several weeks of meticulous planning and collaboration to execute safely and to our customer’s exacting specifications,” said Kenneth B. Christensen, vice president of commercial in air and sea APAC. “This was only possible thanks to the efforts of our Korean, Indonesian and APAC Project colleagues as well as the Global Chartering department, who all came together to make this happen.”

DSV will be exhibiting at Breakbulk Middle East 2023, taking place on 13-14 February at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai.