IMMEDIATE RELEASE             July 30, 2003

Duluth, Minn., U.S.A.—The Dutch vessel Stellanova, the final of four ships bringing in gigantic pieces of equipment manufactured in Spain and Italy and destined for Canada, is scheduled to arrive at approximately 8 a.m. Friday (August 1) in the Port of Duluth-Superior.

Lake Superior Warehousing Co., Inc., will assist with offloading the 121 lengthy and weighty pieces at Duluth’s Clure Public Marine Terminal. Destined for the Syncrude UE-1 oil sands project near Ft. McMurray, Alberta, the equipment includes several pressure cylinders manufactured in Spain and Italy that measure up to 165 feet (50.3 meters) long and weigh as much as 260 metric tons. Sixteen eight-axle railcars will be supplied by TTX Corp., Chicago, Ill., and Kasgro Rail Corp., Ramsey, Ind., to move the majority of the equipment.

“This is the first time that we have moved pressure vessels of this length via rail to the site,” said Ed Clarke, logistics manager for Syncrude UE-1.

“Special railcars are required to handle excessive tail swing caused by the length of the equipment, and the route used for this shipment will differ from the Cass Lake, Minn., conduit used for previous shipments. This time the cargo will travel through Staples and Detroit Lakes, Minn., then through Fargo and Grand Forks, N.D., through Crookston and then on to Noyes, Minn.,” he said.

Jumbo, a Rotterdam heavy-lift shipping company, arranged for arrival of the equipment via four ships outfitted with deck cranes capable of handling heavy loads.

The first shipment arrived in Port August 3, 2002, aboard Jumbo’s vessel Fairload. It consisted of 10 pressure cylinders manufactured in Spain measuring up to 147 feet (44.8 meters) long and weighing as much as 131 metric tons that required four eight-axle railcars.

The second shipment of equipment (manufactured in Italy) arrived November 8, 2002, aboard the Jumbo Vision. Transfer of this equipment marked a record-setting rail shipment that included seven 520-ton pieces requiring 14 12-axle railcars, and two 200-ton pieces requiring two eight-axle railcars. The largest pieces measured approximately 80 feet (24.4 meters) long.

The third shipment of equipment (manufactured in Spain and Italy) arrived April 30, 2003, once again aboard the Fairload. It included five 95-ton pieces that moved by truck, and 44 more pieces weighing between 20 and 160 tons and ranging in length from 40 to 155 feet (12.2 to 47.2 meters) that moved via the multi-axle railcars.

Duluth’s Guthrie-Hubner, Inc., acted as local agent for each of the vessels.

Only 28 of the special 12-axle railcars required for these shipments are available in North America. Syncrude UE-1 handled the projects in conjunction with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Company, Fort Worth, Texas, and Superior, Wis.; Canadian National Railway, Edmonton, Alberta, and Montreal; Rail Link America, Denver, Col., and Athabasca Northern Railway, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The Syncrude UE-1 oil extraction and upgrading endeavor is one of several underway in Northern Alberta. It involves removing sand from the earth that is impregnated with oil, separating the two and then using new technology to upgrade the oil to a usable product.

Lake Superior Warehousing has established a world-wide reputation for handling this type of oversized project cargo, with Duluth often being selected as the North American port of entry because of a combination of its facilities for dimensional cargoes as well as the rail and road clearances between the Port and job sites.

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Contact: Ed Clarke, Senior Logistics Coordinator, Syncrude UE-1 Project, phone 403-875-8073

CONTACT: Lisa Marciniak, Port Promotion Manager, phone 218-727-8525

More Press Releases, 2003