Case Study:
EEMUA Tank Inspection

Adler & Allan’s facilities management support services were required at Pepel Port in Sierra Leone, where an existing fuel installation needed to be assessed to see if it was suitable to be reused as part of the redevelopment of the port, railway and inland iron ore mine.

The client asked Adler & Allan to carry out a full EEMUA/API inspection of the six, 60,000 litre tanks. Following assessment, a report was compiled including recommendations and specifications, with budget costing for the various options to provide su cient fuel for both the construction phase and for when the mine became fully operational.

A three man team was deployed to Sierra Leone in November 2010, following client briefings in London. The local management were consulted on their requirements and project limitations. To enable a detailed inspection to take place, local labour cleared the tank farm of 20 years of vegetation. Measurements, tank thickness and tilt angles were gathered, and existing fuel rail cars were inspected to enable a condition report to be produced.

The team assessed the immediate fuel storage requirements on site for heavy and light vehicles, rolling stock and power generation. Based on the findings, two 50,000 litre tanks with dispensing pumps and fuel management equipment were ordered to provide an interim fuel solution whilst the longer term plans were negotiated. These included looking at options for the transport of fuel by barge, refurbishment of the existing tanks and off-loading issues.

Two engineers commissioned the tanks in-country and then provided training to local sta in the safe operation of the equipment.