Newly commissioned 1500 Series E-Crane indicates growing partnership

Tampa, FL:  A brand new 1500 Series E-Crane has successfully offloaded its first vessel for Kinder Morgan Terminals location at Port Sutton; a second machine for Kinder Morgan who commissioned a rail mounted 1500 Series E-Crane in Columbus, MS, back in 2008.

Installation of the new pedestal mounted E-Crane in Tampa began in early December 2010 under the direction of Steve Suter, E-Crane Service Manager. Using water based support equipment, Suter and crew erected the crane in one week. One week of hydraulic and electrical installation followed by a third week of testing, tuning and touch-up work which concluded on 20-Dec-10.

While the installation was progressing, Kinder Morgan elected to send three operators to E-Crane USA’s headquarters in Galion, Ohio for training. Phil Beasley, Donnie Brown and Tony Sanchez arrived in Ohio late in the day on 14-Dec-10. A full day of training followed with classroom topics such as Operator Safety and Maintenance for Operators in the morning. The afternoon was reserved for the E-Crane Electronic Machine Manager (EMM) Simulator. Each operator was given a chance to sit in a real cab and interact with an E-Crane control system identical to their machine. The day concluded with a Question and Answer session and finally a steak dinner at the Texas Roadhouse.

Back in Tampa, the MV Varnebank, a 9000 DWT General Cargo Ship, berthed in the early morning hours of Monday 10-Jan-11 with 5700 tons of “Granular SOP” to be offloaded. Granular SOP (Potassium Sulphate; density 82 pcf) is one of the many products Kinder Morgan unloads for their customers at the Port Sutton Terminal.

Mr. Beasly, with the old Bucyrus crane looking on from shore, unloaded the first grab into the hopper at 07.30 hrs using the 7.5 cubic yard grab. A second grab of 10 cubic yards is also available for use with lighter materials. The first feedback from the operators was overwhelming positive as within hours they could outpace the 450 tph permit limit of the take-away conveyor system.

About Kinder Morgan

Kinder Morgan is the largest independent terminal operator in North America with more than 180 terminals handling or storing bulk, chemical and petroleum products. The Port Sutton Terminal sits on 16 acres with 700 feet of private dock along the Port Sutton Channel within the Port of Tampa complex. The terminal has inside storage capacity of 200,000 tons and is serviced by CSX railroad.

Website: www.kindermorgan.com