Odfjell Quarterly October 2012

iefingsODFJELL QUARTERLY magazineOdfjell Terminals (Charleston) on track,but with hidden surprisesBy Mel Pinks, Terminal Manager OTC, CharlestonThe third quarter of 2012 at OdfjellTerminals (Charleston) (OTC) has seenthe onslaught of heavy plant equipmentgrading (leveling) to the northwestern sideof the terminal plot to accommodate the‘Phase1’ tanks. This charge of activity hasnot been as simple as pushing dirt aroundwith a bulldozer as there have been a few(anticipated) surprises!18The predominant use of the Charleston landprior to its acquisition by Odfjell was forbulk liquid storage, such as clean and dirtypetroleum products rather than chemicals.There were also a number of different ownersand operators of the pre-existing terminal(s).As was seemingly the fashion thirty plus yearsago, pipelines that served liquid storage facilitieswere largely kept underground where therationale for such placement was as a fireprevention precaution rather than an ‘out ofsight, out of mind mentality'. Grading of ourplot therefore has had to cope with ‘hiddentreasures’ that have needed to be handled in anenvironmentally conscious manner and withthe blessing of South Carolina Department ofHealth and Environmental Control.Constructing with the community in mindAs well as taking precautions to deal withthe unknown ‘hidden treasures’, there hasalso been test ‘piling’ carried out at the siteand large steel piles have been hammeredseventy five feet into the ground. OTC andour appointed project engineering contractor,‘Professional Project Services’, along with ‘TheRobert’s Company’ have not only had tomanage the whole operation itself, calculatingat what depth the Marl (Marl or marlstoneis a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud ormudstone which contains variable amountsof clays and silt) is reached, but they have alsohad to be aware of the noise pollution thisoperation may cause our close neighbours.A ‘Junttan’ pile driving rig is being used atOTC. This rig, aside from doing its intendedtask safely and efficiently is also friendly tothe environment as this type of equipmentgenerates less noise and reduces vibrationand harmful emissions. We at OTC, tooktime to notify the local community leaders,businesses as well as the Police of our piledriving intentions weeks before the operationcommenced. We carried out checks on noisepollution during the test operation and weare pleased to report that so far the Junttan righas delivered on its environmental promise,causing minimal, certainly tolerable disturbance.We have complied fully with the City ofNorth Charleston Ordinance regarding timesat which Industrial/construction relatednoise may be generated.Grading at OTCOn site Safety Officer employedOn site, the storm water pond to the extremeeastern side of the plot is now nearing completionand document wise…. well the list isendless and a huge amount of man hourshas been devoted to the project. On the ‘bigticket’ items we have reached the 90% reviewmark on functions of the new dock, rail andfire protection systems. Safety on site remainsthe number one priority for Odfjell and ourEPC contractor. An on site Safety Officer hasbeen appointed and all personnel at the facilityare inducted in construction site safety awareness.Access to site construction areas are onlygranted once this training has been giving.Next quarter we will provide further updateson the OTC project and details on Charlestonitself, which has to be one of the best preservedNorth American cities, considering the severeweather conditions it endures.OTC is gradually taking form