Chinese shipyard launches Tomsk barge intended for transportation of oversize cargo to Amur GCC

 DAMEN Yichang Shipyard in China has launched the barge named Tomsk which is built for the delivery of the largest columns under the project on construction of Amur Gas Chemical Complex (a joint project of SIBUR and Sinopec) by the Amur and Zeya rivers, says press center of Amur GCC. 

The barge features the length of 111.75 meters, width - 26 meters, depth – 3.8 meters, full capacity - 5,700 tonnes. With its design, the barge loaded with heavy columns will have a draft of 1 meter to pass the shallow fairway of the Zeya river (its guaranteed depth is 1.1 meter). The barge’s ballast system ensures its safe passage under the bridges if necessary.

The first batch of cargo will be delivered by the Tomsk to Amur GCC in the navigation season of 2021. It will consist of the columns weighing almost 1,500 and over 1,200 tonnes.

Having completed the tests and passed the certification, the barge will be towed to an off-harbor area of a Chinese port where it will be loaded onto the semi-submersible ship Sun Rise. The barge will be transported to the S. Korean port of Masan. Two floating cranes will load the column weighing 1,500 tonnes onto the barge fixed on the ship. It will then sail to De-Kastri port in Russia where the ship will be submerged and the barge will be floated out for further towing.

In June, the barge will be moored at the temporary berth at the 212 kilometer on the Zeya river near the Amur GCC construction site and then leave to take the next batch of cargo.

Amur Gas Chemical Complex is a joint venture of SIBUR and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec). Amur Gas Chemical Complex is under construction in the Amur Region. The capacity of AGCC’s pyrolysis facility will be up to 2.7 mtpa. It will be the world’s largest pyrolysis facility in terms of single-unit power.