IMMEDIATE RELEASE             November 15, 2005

DULUTH, Minn., U.S.A.—The first of two ships bringing enormous pieces of equipment manufactured in Japan, Italy, the Netherlands and India and destined for Canada via record-setting rail shipments is scheduled to arrive in the Port of Duluth-Superior today (November 15) aboard the Dutch vessel Jumbo Fairlane.

The Rotterdam-based vessel is scheduled to arrive under the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge at approximately 11 a.m., then proceed to Duluth's Clure Public Marine Terminal where Lake Superior Warehousing Co., Inc., will offload the equipment.  The majority of the dimensional pieces are destined for OPTI Canada’s Long Lake Upgrader oil sands project in Northern Alberta.

The Fairlane traveled here from Mumbai, India, with 14 heat exchangers for the Long Lake Project’s OrCrudeTM unit.  The vessel is also carrying a reactor for a Canadian Natural Resources Upgrader project North of Fort McMurray, Alberta, being coordinated by SNC - Lavalin, Inc., Calgary, Alberta, and an additional reactor destined for Regina, Saskatchewan, for a Coop Upgrader project being coordinated by Mammoet U.S.A.

Jumbo, a heavy-lift shipping company headquartered in Rotterdam, arranged for arrival of the equipment via two ships outfitted with deck cranes capable of handling heavy loads. The second shipment is scheduled to arrive in Port at approximately 4 p.m. November 17 aboard Jumbo's vessel Stellaprima. 

The Stellaprima began what has been described as a “world tour” in June when she departed the Arabian Peninsula port of Dubai for Japan where two mammoth reactors and some proprietary coolers for a gasifier unit were loaded in Kobe.  From Japan the vessel sailed to Kuantan, Malaysia, and then on to Mumbai, India, to pick up additional project components.  She then steamed through the Suez Canal to Port Marghe, on the east coast of Italy, before swinging around to the Italian west coast port of Cagliari.  Before leaving Europe there was one more port of call, Rotterdam.

“The voyage of the Stellaprima really captures the spirit of the global procurement, expediting and logistical efforts involved in getting key upgrader equipment components in place.  The loading success experienced to date has come as a result of a tremendous amount of teamwork and daily attention that is a real credit to the project team,” said Jim Arnold, Chief Operating Officer of OPTI Canada.

The Stellaprima’s cargo weighs more than 9.5 million lbs.—including the two “hydro cracker” reactors—one weighing 1.5 million lbs. (678 tons) and the other 1.1 million lbs. (520 tons).  The heaviest reactor, which will weigh 805 tons including tension skids and loading bars, will represent the largest single piece of heavy-lift project machinery handled at the Port by Lake Superior Warehousing and the largest single load carried on North American railroads.  It will be offloaded in Duluth onto the Westinghouse 36-axle Schnabel car, the world’s largest capacity railcar according the Association of American Railroads. 

Movement of the remaining freight, including the smaller reactor, will require a record-setting rail shipment of 61 rail cars.

"These shipments will represent the largest (in terms of length and weight) loads ever carried over U.S. and Canadian railways, breaking a record set in November 2002 when a Syncrude UE-1 project that moved through Duluth to Northern Alberta required 56 cars for seven 530-ton and two 200-ton pieces of equipment.," said Ed Clarke, Calgary, Alberta, logistics coordinator for the Long Lake Project.

"Duluth was once again selected as the North American port of entry because of a combination of its facilities for dimensional cargoes, the professional services provided by Lake Superior Warehousing and the excellent rail service and clearances available,” said Clarke.

The previous largest single loads carried on North American railroads also moved through the Port of Duluth-Superior. In October 1990 two Japanese-built cylinders destined for the BiProvincial Upgrader oil project in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, arrived at the Clure Public Marine Terminal aboard the Dutch vessel Starman Asia. The 773-ton cylinders were transported to Canada on the Schnabel car.

"Duluth has the equipment, technology, and, most importantly, the people to make such projects a reality," said Gary Nicholson, Lake Superior Warehousing president.

"Clearances for oversize loads from Duluth are often the best available whether the product is moving via rail or truck. Coupled with the strong work ethic of Lake Superior Warehousing's employees, shippers of oversized cargo are provided with a powerful combination of reasons for choosing Duluth," said Nicholson.

Local agent for Jumbo vessels is Guthrie-Hubner, Inc., Duluth.

The oil extraction and upgrading endeavor is one of several underway in 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.
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CONTACTS: Gary Nicholson, President, Lake Superior Warehousing Co., Inc., 218-727-6646

            David Coll, Communications Coordinator, Long Lake Project, 403-669-9892.

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