JSI Alliance Completes Dahej Berth Heavy-Lift

The JSI Alliance has completed heavy-lift installation works for a new liquid cargo berth for Gujarat Chemical Port Ltd. (GCPL) at Dahej, India, executed on behalf of main contractor Afcons Infrastructure Limited.

The scope covered installation of eight jackets and fifteen berthing dolphins, each weighing 500–600 tonnes, at a 10 m outreach. Conditions were demanding: a 10 m tidal range generating currents of up to 5 knots, a sandy seabed unsuited to conventional mooring solutions, and a requirement to keep two live, frequently used berths operational throughout.

JSI Alliance mobilised heavy-lift vessel Jumbo Javelin over fifteen days starting 3 November, fitting her with a fly jib for the lifting scope. The vessel was equipped with an eight-point mooring spread tailored to the seabed and tidal conditions, using 17-tonne anchors and 52–64 mm mooring lines rated to a Minimum Breaking Load of approximately 300 tonnes each. Eight custom-made 250-tonne winches – double the usual four – were installed to provide back-up wires for safety and redundancy.

Additional steel reinforcement was added to the vessel to absorb the significant mooring forces involved, while anchor handling support vessels installed the mooring spread within four-hour tidal windows, when currents were at their lowest. Once connected, Jumbo Javelin remained on station for several days at a time, avoiding any interruption to berthing operations.

The first loadout took place on 3 December at Dighi Port, with Jumbo Javelin completing six voyages in total before installing the final item on 14 March. The vessel then returned to Dighi Port for demobilisation, completed in seven and a half days, before sailing to Singapore to return equipment to suppliers. The project was fully completed on 6 April.

“The successful completion of this project is a testament to the teamwork, expertise and commitment of everyone involved. By drawing on the shared resources and capabilities of the JSI Alliance, we were able to develop a solution tailored to the complex site conditions and deliver the project safely and efficiently,” said Robert de Waard, Project Manager at the JSI Alliance.

De Waard thanked colleagues across all departments, as well as suppliers Franklin Offshore International and Mooreast Asia for their support with anchor handling equipment, and Seacontractors, which supported Afcons with two vessels for anchor handling. “We are also extremely grateful to Afcons for placing its trust in the JSI Alliance,” he added. “Our two teams have worked together closely throughout the project, and we have enjoyed the collaboration and look forward to working together again in the future.”