Workforce International’s Commerical Marine Division was selected as the preferred supplier of recruitment, labour and support services to Jan De Nul NV on the $526 million Port Botany Expansion Project (pictured above) – a joint venture between Jan De Nul and Baulderstone for the Sydney Ports Corporation.
In order to the provide 1,850 meters of additional wharf frontage for 5 extra vessel berths at the Container terminal, the project involved:
- the reclamation of 60 hectares of land for the container terminal;
- channel deepening up to 16.5 metres;
- creating a turning basin for larger vessels to be able to manoeuvre; and
- dredging a total of 7.8 million cubic meters of fill material
To assist Jan de Nul, WFI supplied employees for various roles on a 24 hr/7-days a week basis, including Barge Masters, Barge Engineers and winch operators to position and move the Cutter Suction Spreader Barge on her 4 point mooring system and maintain her Caterpillar power source.
Onshore, a fully trained eight-man crew of foremen, doggers, excavator operators and general-purpose hands assembled some 1600 metres of floating pipelines on the Foreshore beach, where a D6 and Cat 330 excavator were used to launch the joined sections of pipe and a multi cat crew anchored them offshore.
A crew bus and drivers were also supplied by WFI on a rotating roster to service the shift change-over of the dredging crews and shuttle overseas crew to and from Sydney Airport as needed. A small local cutter dredger, operated by WFI personnel, was engaged to dredge the shallow water in order for deeper draft cutter dredgers to enter the water.
For support to the project team WFI also supplied a purchasing officer, HSE assistant and receptionist. Day-to-day feedback between project superintendents and WFI representatives was a vital link in the chain, helping to ensure that Jan de Nul were able to deliver their section of the project works on time and on budget.