Afour-month contract to supply four fire water tanks at a fuel terminal in Maputo, Mozambique, was awarded last month to South African bulk liquid and dry bulk storage tank supplier Tank Connected.

The erection of the tanks will start at the end of the year, says Tank Connected operational director JC du Plessis.
He explains that the scope of work will include the supply and installation of four fire water tanks with a combined capacity of six-million litres, 12 geodesic domes and six internal floating roofs (IFRs).

The company will also install the IFRs, the tanks and domes at the Port of Beira and Matola, in Mozambique.

“Our suppliers on the project are tank manufacturer USA Tanks, of Missouri, US, and dome/IFR manufacturer Ateco, of Istanbul, Turkey,” says Du Plessis.

“Mozambique is booming, owing to fuel and gas discoveries, which is why there is a market for fuel terminals. We have had many requests to install tanks and geodomes since our last project in Mozambique, which was completed earlier this year,” he says, adding that 30 people will be employed at the peak of the Matolo/Beira, Maputo project.

Du Plessis highlights that the last project in Beira, which entailed the erection of a one-million-litre fire water tank, was completed in eight days, instead of 25 days.

“A tank of that size and magnitude could take up to four months to build and install. However, we used a synchronised, hydraulic screw jack process that enabled us to fit the panels one ring at a time and to jack up the tank so that we could start installing the next ring of panels.

“This made the process safer for our six-man crew, as we did not use scaffolding,” he explains.

Du Plessis adds that the tank was constructed using a rolled tapered-panel design, which is regarded as the preferred design for fire-protection applications worldwide.

“The tank was also powder-coated, which increases its life span exponentially. Where normal spray coatings would usually have a life span of about three years, the powder coating can last for up to 20 years,” he says, as the powder coating is applied in controlled conditions.

The panels will be supplied by the company from its US-based partner, USA Tanks, as the company does not have a factory in South Africa, owing to the high cost of building a manufacturing facility.

Du Plessis notes, however, that the company will consider building a factory in the future, once the demand for its products increases.

“Tank Connected has been operating since the beginning of 2011, making us relatively new to the market. We have seen some prospective business from big companies in the petrochemicals sector, but nothing is final yet.

“We are also hoping and planning to expand further into South Africa and the rest of Africa, wherever there are opportunities,” he says.