The latest project we’ve been involved with is a series of major refurbishments at the port’s linkspan berth at Terminal 3. The linkspan was originally built in 1995 and has been upgraded to handle a significant increase in vehicle loadings and to conform to current PUWER legislation.

The refurbishment has included the redesign, procurement and installation of four hydraulic lifting cylinders, each weighing 30 tonnes and having a lifting capacity of 350 tonnes. These are a new design with a patented hydraulic safety manifold and a new control system that allows maintenance trends to be scheduled and recorded. On our advice, all oil within the hydraulics has been replaced with the more environmentally friendly Panolin – a synthetic hydraulic oil that’s biodegradable and breaks up in water.

The linkspan is being fully repainted and new crash barriers fitted, with new lighting and relaying of the two road surfaces scheduled for completion by early 2009. The 12m finger flaps that make the physical connection with the ferry have also been totally redesigned and replaced with six larger ones.

This was a major project for the Terminal, so throughout the refurbishment it was essential that any shutdowns were programmed to suit the company’s sailings and our complete project management of the programme ensured that there was as little disruption to Stena Line’s services as possible.

Click here for the 'Keeping Stena Line Sailing' case study download.