The specialist ship Fairmaster arrived in Gdańsk in the evening, on Wednesday, March 22. At night, it moored at the Coal Pier in the Northern Port. On board, elements for the construction of the modern Olefin III Complex at the petrochemical plant in Płock belonging to Orlen were transported from Spain, including a huge, over 800 tons wash tower column.

Fairmaster, sailing under the flag of the Netherlands, delivered another part of the elements for the construction of the Olefin Complex III. The components were unloaded on Thursday on barges, which set off on a 400-kilometre voyage up the Vistula River.

This is not the first such operation for Olefin III, nor will it be the last. Already in January, the first oversized loads arrived from the factory near Shanghai, which were floated on their way to Płock. Since the beginning of 2023, Morska Agencja Gdynia has been servicing all vessels that transport elements for the expansion of the Płock refinery to Gdańsk.

Fairmaster is the sixth ship unloaded by MAG together with DSV - Global Transport and Logistics, the company responsible for the implementation of the project and the organization of all related deliveries in Poland.

Fairmaster belongs to the Jumbo shipowner, specializing in the transport of oversized cargo by self-loading ships. Her length is 153 m. She has reinforced decks and covers. The vessel is equipped with two cranes - each capable of lifting cargo weighing up to 1.5 thousand tons.

– In the port of Gijón, the ship boarded a wash tower, i.e. a petrochemical column weighing 827 tons, almost 100 m long and with a diameter of about 8 m. It is the largest element ever transported along the Vistula river – says Paweł Kazłowski, Port Operations & Agency Department Manager of MAG's Gdańsk Office.

In the port of Bilbao, 6 additional components with a total weight of 205 tons were loaded.

The Coal Pier, out of use for several years, was chosen as the unloading site due to its strategic location near the entrance to the Vistula River. Morska Agencja Gdynia obtained special permissions to use the quay for operations - from mooring the ship to reloading components directly onto barges.

– This is a unique project. For our client, as DSV, we have broken several records, including in the category of the largest river transport in the history of the Vistula River, as well as the largest road transport in Poland. To deliver all elements of the investment to the target, we used the entire know-how of the DSV Group, as well as our international network of contacts – explains Grzegorz Samoć, director of DSV Projects Polska. – A great example, illustrating the innovativeness of project logistics, is the issue of river barges that we used. At the very beginning, we even considered building a special vessel for this operation. However, we found another solution. DSV acquired two barges from Germany, which were then properly arranged, i.e. they were modernized and connected to each other so that they meet all technical parameters related to the stability and carrying capacity of transport – he adds.

The transported elements are necessary for the expansion of the Olefin Complex at the Production Plant in Płock. PKN Orlen carries out this task as part of the strategic Petrochemical Development Program. It is the largest petrochemical investment in Europe in the last 20 years. The Olefin III complex will occupy approximately 100 hectares, i.e. 140 full-size football fields. After launching, it will produce petrochemical products that are the basis for the production of everyday items, including cleaning agents and hygienic and medical articles, synthetic fibers for the production of clothing or protective masks. They will also include car parts, elements of household appliances and electronic devices.