Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal – Gantry Stacker, Jetty & Wharf, Ship Loader

The Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal (WICET) is a coal export terminal located at Golding Point, Gladstone, in Queensland, Australia.

Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal Project Details:

Upon completion, WICET doubled the coal export capacity at its port. Stage one construction included a rail receiver facility, overland conveyors, stockyard areas for 1.9 million tonnes of coal (including the overhead gantry stacker), materials handling and sampling station, single berth (including the ship loader), wharf and substation. The first coal shipments through stage one of the terminal started late 2014.

DBM Vircon’s Scope of Work:

DBM Vircon provided modelling and detailing services for 3 main areas of the project (Stockyard Overhead Gantry Stacker, Jetty & Wharf Structure, and the Ship Loader) and additional services for engineering and erection services for the gantry and stackers.

Stockyard Overhead Gantry Stacker

DBM Vircon provided modelling and detailing services for the Stockyard Overhead Gantry Stacker. This unique stacker design consists of a central raised gantry, ~900m long, supporting the feed conveyor, rails and walkways. On either side of the gantry (east and west) is a ~130m long (total 260m) and ~25m high moving bridge structure to precisely stack the coal in piles up to 18m high over a 22-hectare area. This bridge structure included:

• Tripper, including the rail bogies
• Transfer platforms
• CHS tri-chord truss frames for the bridges
• Movable stacking chutes
• A-Frame legs at either end back to the ground rails
• Include all mechanical items required (belts, idlers, pulleys, motors etc.)
• Walkways, stairs, platforms, grating, handrails and guards
• All necessary supports and brackets for piping, electrical and hydraulic items

In addition, to ensure correct operation of this large complex piece of machinery, many virtual checks were carried out for clearances as the stacker moved along the gantry and in its varying positions of operation.

Jetty & Wharf Structure

DBM Vircon provided structural detailing for the jetty and wharf structures including:

• The single birth wharf including the plated headstock connecting to the piles;
• 2-kilometer-long jetty conveyor, including the pleated headstocks connecting to the piles;
• The transfer tower between the jetty and the wharf including all machinery equipment;
• Jetty conveyor modules including conveyor support framings, conveyor rollers, maintenance walkways and all safety requirements;
• The raised wharf conveyor;
• Rails and stops for the ship loader; and,
• Ship mooring dolphins.

Working closely with the design team at Aurecon and with Monadelphous, DBM Vircon modelled all water piping, electrical services and equipment to ensure they could fit on the structure, and ensure maintenance access was achievable after construction. Modelling all these services also ensured all the necessary supports and bracketry were applied to the structure during fabrication in a safe and controlled environment, rather than on-site in an exposed environment. This considered items like positioning the lighting, safety requirements, substations, control rooms, anti-corrosive aids, cable ladders etc.

Ship Loader

The Ship Loader located on the wharf is a large piece of machinery that can take coal from the conveyor and transfer it into the ship’s hull for transport. DBM Vircon not only provided modelling and detailing services for the main structure of the ship loader machinery, but also worked closely with the design team at Aurecon to model all necessary services a large piece of machinery required. This allowed the ship loader to be fully fitted out before being commissioned on the wharf. These include:

• A-Frame and mast
• Drive floor
• Winch deck and lower rear stays
• Winch drum
• Tail end boom
• Control cabin
• Telescopic loading chute
• Pivot yoke, pivot hanger and upper rear stays
• Tripper
• Long travel system including the rail bogies.
• Include all mechanical items required (belts, idlers, pulleys, motors etc).
• Walkways, stairs, platforms, grating, handrails and guards
• Piping services
• Electrical layouts, including substation, lighting, switches, cable ladders, cameras, safety requirements etc.
• Hydraulic and lubrication lines
• All necessary supports and brackets for piping, electrical and hydraulic items.

In addition, to ensure correct operation of this large complex piece of machinery which sits over the water, many checks were carried out for clearances as the ship loader moved along the wharf and in its varying positions of operation.

Engineering and Erection Services for the Gantry and Stackers

Working with the WA Department of Water, Monadelphous and Stockland, DBM Vircon’s scope included the design and detailing of the lifting frames for the ‘undressed’ east and west stacker bridge, stacker legs, central carriage and tripper for inshore lifting of the bridges. The stacker bridge lifting study included the design and detailing of the lifting frames for the stacker bridge.

DBM Vircon then carried out the transportation study and temporary supports for John Holland to modify the design of the frame to allow the bridge to be transported over land, provide supports while the bridge was dressed and allow lifting of the fully dressed bridge into the final position.

In the Media:

“The largest individual structure to be built at the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal has been successfully lifted into place at the WICET coal stockyard. The 780-tonne lift and installation of the western stacker bridge was completed…Work began with 750 and 1100-tonne cranes lifting the bridge structure into place, 25 metres above the stockyard floor. The stacker bridge is 11 metres wide and 125 metres long, and will comprise an integral part of the terminal’s coal in-loading infrastructure, providing the support and housing for the shuttling conveyor and telescopic chute which will deliver coal across the stockpiles.”

From the article ‘Monster lift puts 125 metre-long bridge in place at WICET‘.