TSA orders Damen Transshipment Crane Barge

Damen has received an order for a Transshipment Crane Barge from Transhipment Services Australia (TSA). As it is able to supply the new Crane Barge 6324 directly from stock, Damen says it will fulfil the order in four weeks.

TSA has been contracted by Metro Mining to provide transshipment services for its Bauxite Hills Project located along the Skardon River on the Cape York Peninsula, north of Weipa in far North Queensland. TSA will operate the Damen Floating Crane Barge and has a fleet of five tugs and six dumb barges, which have been successfully transhipping for Metro for four years. The company has also operated Damen tugs and Shoalbusters in the past.

Sjoerd de Bruin, Damen sales manager Asia Pacific, responsible for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, comments: “We are delighted that we could make this happen and very quickly, in just four weeks from the initial client enquiry to delivery into Australia. Not only are we partly customising the barge during this time, we have also arranged the finance through our Customer Finance Department.

“Damen was keen to make every effort to support TSA,” continues de Bruin. “If we had gone to the external financing options the lead time could take up to 16 weeks given the summer holiday period, therefore our Customer Finance Department stepped in.

Joint owner of TSA, Darren Hedley adds: “Our previous experience with Damen vessels has always been rewarding and we are all very excited to welcome this new vessel into the fleet and to commence loading Capesize ships in October of this year.”

At 63 x 24 metres, the Damen Crane Barge is equipped with a grab with a 15 cubic metre capacity and TSA is expecting to load at a rate of 16,000 to 20,000 tonnes per day.

Once the client and class requirements are completed, the new Crane Barge will be transported from Shanghai to Australia by an oceangoing tug by one of TSA’s contractors.

TSA’s new Damen Crane Barge 6324 is expected to be operational in Q4 2021.