Helping Deliver a 650 tonne Gas Processing Plant for the NT Government

When ICE was contacted by a major client who were building a gas processing plant for the Northern Territory Government, we knew it would be a significant challenge.

Challenge

The construction project was remote, and ICE were tasked with importing over 3,000 cubic metres (650,000kgs) of components for the plant.

That’s a volume bigger than an Olympic swimming pool and the weight of over 120 fully grown African elephants.

Components were large (one over 35m in length and weighing 125,000kgs) and some components were small. Only one thing was consistent – the need to deliver every piece of freight on time and within budget.

Solution

• Shipping 1,000 cubic metres of road shipments throughout China from Qingdao to Shanghai Port (750km away).
• Transferring freight directly from barges to a chartered cargo vessel to minimise timescales and costs.
• Maximising protection for sea-freight in Shanghai whilst working to stringent deadlines.
• Organising specialist road contractors to take oversized cargo from Darwin, 1,000km inland to Tennant Creek.
• Co-ordination with local shipping, customs and quarantine agents in China and Australia.
• Complete client liaison throughout the project.

Equipment used at Darwin Port:

• Mobile harbour crane – 550 tonnes
• Extendable trailer – 100 tonnes
• Cargo vessel – 9524 tonnes
• 13 line extendable trailer
• 7 line platform trailer

Results

John Mangiafico, Director, who led the ICE team commented

Our experience, local knowledge and co-ordination with Darwin authorities allowed us to customs clear the shipment two days prior to arrival. We also successfully structured a duty deferral plan to allow our client to defer a payment of A$700,000. This project is a prime example of the diverse nature of jobs that ICE successfully undertakes every day. Regardless of size, shape, volume, destination and entity – we consult, we plan, we deliver.

Darren McGregor, Project Manager, was delighted with the ICE approach, noting

ICE has managed many projects to date but none quite of this size and scale. To ensure the success of the project we put proactive communication at the forefront of our approach, engaging with the client and managing expectations throughout.

Stephen Roberson, Customs Manager, concurred

Working with ICE we were able to concentrate on delivering the intricacies of our project without worrying about the freight and transportation component of this venture. We felt completely confident that we had entrusted the right team to deliver the service we required and knew that the interests of our business were put first.

When dealing with high value projects it is vitally important all documentation is reviewed to minimise the duty exposure for our clients. This is where our experience and expertise comes in. By being involved from the inception of each project we were able to ensure all documentation was in order, any issues were anticipated and goods were cleared prior to arrival.