The second week of May 2016 was nothing short of triumphant for Transnet Port Terminals’ (TPT) Saldanha team with the second of five gas storage tanks having been safely delivered to the Sunrise Energy premises.

The operation of abnormal cargo requires a great deal of planning and alignment where all stakeholders need to constantly be in communication. Due to the added high risk associated with handling these gas storage tankers, commonly known as LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) Bullets, TPT’s Saldanha team took every precaution necessary to ensure there were no incidences when handling the volatile substance to cross the Saldanha Terminals operations to its end destination.

In this instance, all Transnet Operating divisions, local traffic services, and Sunrise Energy were in regular communication to see this operation through. Heavy vehicles operated by Mammoet Southern Africa, carried the abnormal load at a speed less than 10km per hour from the manufacturer’s premises through Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) and eventually to the installation site of Sunrise Energy. The gas storage tank was loaded onto trailers, propelled by three trucks – two trucks pulling from the front and at certain instances one pushing from the back.

Part of the operation to enable the bullet to cross the iron ore railway line required for a steep slope to be constructed which would enable the loaded trailer to move smoothly. As a result, the operation ran flawlessly with no interruption to the production schedule. Sunrise Energy commended TPT and all other parties involved on the efficiency that this project was handled, stating that this was one of the best outcomes they have had with these LPG bullets having been totally incident-free.

“TPT places great emphasis and importance on the safety of our employees and our customers’ cargo on a daily basis. The safety culture we have created through our ongoing Operational Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) programmes and procedures has played an integral role in the success of this project. I am proud of the care and attention to detail my Saldanha team took to make sure that we were able to achieve a satisfactory result”, stated Robert Van Rooyen, Saldanha Terminal Manager.

TPT prides itself on best practice in the industry particularly in areas such as SHEQ management systems and continues to benchmark against best practices according to International Standards Organization (ISO) levels. It is planned that the remaining three bullets will be moved over the next few weeks.