• Ports and terminals

Strainstall Marine wins order from China’s Sinopec

State owned China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) – which currently ranks as the country’s largest company and number five in Fortune Magazine’s published list of the top global 500 companies for 2012 – has selected Strainstall Marine to supply a complete berth management system.

Sinopec is building its first LNG receiving terminal in the northern Chinese city of Qingdao, to satisfy the increasing demands of the Shandong Peninsula. Due for completion in November 2013, the terminal will receive 3 million tonnes of LNG per year, and will have one berth which will be able to dock LNG carriers with capacity ratings of up to 270 million cubic metres. Although Strainstall Marine has previously supplied its docking systems to the Chinese market, this is the first order for a full system, which comprises vessel approach monitoring, quick release mooring hooks, mooring load monitoring, environmental monitoring and a ship-to-shore data link.

This system will allow the LNG carriers to dock safely by enabling the impact speeds of the vessel onto the fenders to be better controlled, to safeguard against possible damage to the berth and dock structure. Terminal operational safety is also improved through the monitoring of loads in the mooring lines to ensure they do not become overloaded and potentially fail.

As part of the procurement process, Strainstall was approved and registered by Sinopec as a Qualified Supplier in April 2012 – a crucial step both in securing this contact as well as any future projects.