Container glass manufacturer O-I’s Alloa, UK site has taken delivery of parts for an air separator plant.
After road transportation was ruled out, a 187-tonne cold box, which measures 57.6 metres in length, was delivered by Kestrel shipping logistics company in a unique vessel.
The air separation plant from Air Products will be built alongside the O-I Alloa glassworks. It will enable O-I to convert all furnaces to oxy-fuel technology over the next seven years, contributing towards its greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reductions.
The operation took 18 months of planning and required a unique vessel, the Terra Marique, which was described by Kestrel as a hybrid between a barge and a ship.
Alongside tugs Coastworker and Shoalbuster, it had to transit under the Kincardine and Clackmannanshire bridges on the River Forth, which was a challenge as the vessels had to hit a five-minute time window in both directions.
The unloading operation was also complex with a small quay developed at the site, ramps put in place to cover the gap, the cold box unloaded, all broken down and back to the bridges to again hit a five-minute window of opportunity to sail under (see image below).
The box was the first of five deliveries to the glass plant.
O-I Alloa serves the Scotch whisky industry.
Images source: Kestrel logistics company
