Aqua Hire have supplied a Chiller Hire unit which has been used in a huge engineering project at Port of Blyth in the North East of England.
The project has resulted in the creation of a 2,500-tonne offshore gas and oil pipe laying system, one of the largest in the world. Commonly referred to as the J-Lay System, the 80-metre mega structure has been constructed and tested at the Port’s South Harbour terminal.
Initially everything surrounding the build was very hush hush, but the project has been turning heads locally over recent months as huge futuristic pieces of equipment have been arriving on site.
Aqua Hire supplied a 300kW chiller from its hire fleet which was used in a hydraulic cooling application during the project’s testing phase.
In very simple terms, the project consists of a giant cable laying machine which is situated on a ship. When the machine is laying the cabling under the sea, to stop it the operators must, quite literally, put the brakes on. Because of the size of the machinery, the heat load then generated is immense, which is where the chiller comes into its own in dissipating the heat.
With years of ship building heritage behind it, the Port of Blyth has redeveloped itself over the years into a recognised offshore energy base. The J-Lay will be deployed around the world longer term as part of a large deep-sea offshore construction vessel.
