Rocktree Setting New Standards in Transshipment

Last year was a remarkable year for Singapore-based waterborne logistics specialist Rocktree. Not only did 2019 mark the company’s tenth anniversary but it was also a year in which record cargo volumes were handled; the newly established subsidiary company Rocktree Consulting was awarded its first contracts; and its joint venture company Rocktree EMCO Stevedore began transshipments from the Port of Shakhtersk.

Handling record dry bulk cargo volumes in excess of 28 million tonnes, the company has come a long way since 2009, when it began operations with just one transshipment vessel, the 40,000tpd Zeus.

Since then, the company has more than doubled its workforce and expanded its fleet considerably. Rocktree now operates six floating terminals and multi-purpose vessels, 14 tug and barge sets, two harbour tugs, and four self-propelled barges, contributing to the company loading in excess of 180 million tonnes of dry bulk cargo onto more than 2,500 bulk carriers of varying size over the course of the past decade.

“It was a milestone year, largely resultant of the success of the JV and the new consulting arm, which allowed us and our clients to expand into new geographical and commodity markets,” says Rocktree CEO Daniele Pratolongo.

Operations under the joint-venture began in April 2019, when Rocktree deployed the multi-purpose supramax vessel RT Genova and the self-propelled floating terminal EMCO-1. The two floating terminals operate in Sakhalin Island, with four self-propelled feeder barges and assist tugs, enabling East Mining Company (EMCO) to increase delivery volumes to 9 million tonnes during the eight months of the ice-free season. Rocktree’s other floating terminals and barging operations are currently offshore Indonesia.

Speaking from Singapore, Daniel Miller, Head of Business Development, says the success of the JV’s first-year operations has exceeded expectations. “Prior to the joint venture, EMCO was largely limited to loading cargoes onto supramax vessels and a few panamax vessels, but we can now load onto larger tonnage vessels:  post-panamax and capesize thus reducing the transportation costs to end users. This capability has opened up new markets and extended the loading season. We can get bigger ships in to transport larger volumes at lower cost to a greater geographical area.” In May, RT Genova loaded Sakhalin’s first-ever capesize vessel with cargo from the Port of Shakhtersk.

2019 also saw Rocktree increase its activities in other commodities, such as bauxite and iron ore – a move strengthened by the formation of Rocktree Consulting, which in November completed the front-end engineering and design (FEED) for a new floating terminal for the Bauxite Hills Mine, operated by Australia’s Metro Mining Limited.

The FEED work formed part of an updated Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for the Stage 2 expansion of the Bauxite Hills Mine, about 95km north of Weipa, Queensland.  Metro Mining aims to increase bauxite exports from about 3.5 million tonnes to 6 million tonnes per year by 2021.

Fundamental to the expansion is the optimisation of an on-water transshipment facility capable of loading bauxite on to larger vessels, increasing transshipment volumes and loading rates.

Currently, bauxite from the mine is exported by way of smaller, geared self-loading bulk carriers. But, by providing a dynamic simulation analysis of the entire supply chain to create a realistic vision of operating conditions, Rocktree Consulting was able to design an optimal transshipment solution to match the company’s expansion requirements and the specific operating conditions in the region. Rocktree Consulting has put forward a 100m long, 30m wide, 5.5m draught floating terminal design capable of loading up to 3,000 tonnes of bauxite per hour.

Upon approving the design, Metro Mining Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Simon Finnis, said: “Rocktree, which has been instrumental in the design, engineering and construction of more than 20 floating terminals over the past two decades, is now tendering key work packages that will allow costs to be firmed up and final engineering and design work to be completed.”

Rocktree is also marketing additional opportunities with customers for the RT Genova and its sister vessel, RT Leo, to expand their scope of operations. “There are capabilities and benefits that these vessels provide beyond transshipment that customers need to see,” says Trevor Larbey, Rocktree’s Head of Commercial and Operations.

Acquired in 2018, they can operate in both transshipment and distribution trades due to the unique ability to self-load and self-discharge at high speeds, greater than conventionally geared supramax vessels.

Combined with the ability to discharge directly to a single hopper, conveyors, barges, wharves or stockpiles, cargoes can be moved at speeds of over 3,000 tonnes per hour through a single discharge outlet, without having to shift alongside. This increases the efficiency of discharge, lowers berth utilisation, can eliminate stevedoring charges and provide an environmentally sound solution for high turn-around distribution trades and higher operational efficiency.

Looking ahead as the group builds on the successes of 2019, Mario Terenzio, Managing Director of Rocktree Consulting, commented: “Our presence in other areas will grow. We anticipate further expansion in the areas we currently operate in – Russia, Indonesia, Australia – but also new regions, such as the Middle East. We will also explore diversification into other markets new to us as we are seeing opportunities in agricultural commodities, iron ore and other minerals.”