Multi-modal tank move from India to Prudhoe Bay

LNG tanks arrive at Prudhoe Bay’s West Dock after a month-long multi-modal journey from India.

An international Lynden move of two huge Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tanks concluded with arrival at West Dock in Prudhoe Bay last month. “This is one of the coolest moves I’ve been involved with in my 35 years in transportation,” says Nick Karnos, Lynden Logistics Senior Account Executive.

The project started months earlier with Lynden Logistics International Operations Manager Brandie Holmes and the Lynden team coordinating the move of the two storage tanks from Mumbai, India, to Alaska for the construction of a natural gas treatment, liquefication and truck loading facility near Deadhorse. Harvest Midstream and Interior Gas Utility (IGU) plan to use North Slope natural gas to produce LNG that will ultimately be trucked 500 miles to Fairbanks to deliver a reliable source of energy to IGU customers there.

The Lynden team designed a three-part multi-modal plan: 1) Truck transport 270 miles through India from Hazira, Surat, to the Port of Mundra; 2) A six-week 10,000-nautical-mile voyage from Mundra to the Port of Tacoma; and 3) Sailing 2,000 more nautical miles from Seattle to Prudhoe Bay for final delivery.

Import and export documentation was prepared, marine and surface moves began to take shape, route surveys were performed and approved, and ocean routing to the U.S. secured. One of the early challenges was learning that the tanks were almost double the weight originally expected, and that the delivery location of Prudhoe Bay, AK is only serviced by ocean barge during a small seasonal window. “Arranging pickup of the tanks at origin, trucking to the port and lining up the vessel to bring them to Tacoma involved critical timing,” Brandie says. “The vessel was a partial charter on its own schedule. We also had to calculate arrival and docking at the Port of Tacoma to transload the tanks onto the Alaska Marine Lines barge.”

Alaska Marine Lines Director of Marine Operations Brian Ward and Pricing Logistics Analyst Rick Kellogg acquired equipment and vessels to accommodate moving the 200,000-pound, 64-feet by 18-feet tanks between Tacoma and Alaska. The move was noteworthy as the tanks moved as heavy haul freight on Alaska Marine Lines’ annual Arctic Sailing, a relatively new and much-welcomed scheduled transportation option for Lynden customers needing reach into remote Alaskan locations.

According to Nick, when the tanks arrived in Prudhoe Bay, the entire Lynden team felt pride and a sense of accomplishment that an Alaska-focused company successfully executed a complex global move on this scale. “We are helping to change the face of Alaska energy with this unique project, and we are proud to have contributed to its success by delivering the tanks from half a world away intact and on time,” Brandie says.