A worthwhile investment

Southern Star Shipping operates two Siwertell ship unloaders at Apapa Port in Lagos, Nigeria. The first was delivered in 2001, initially for handling cement, fertiliser and wheat. The second was delivered in 2007.

The New York-based company chose Bruks Siwertell because of its positive experience of the Siwertell cement unloaders in the USA. Maintenance Manager, Nikos Fragkakis, says Southern Star was impressed by  Siwertell’s efficiency, strong environmental performance and low maintenance costs. Despite the slightly higher capital cost, these  ualities made the additional investment well worthwhile.

Excellent 'through-ship' performance

Each unloader operates for around 4,000 hours per annum. The unloaders on berths one and two handle 1.2 million metric tons and 1.8 million metric tons respectively. Mr Fragkakis says the unloaders have excellent ‘through the ship’ performance. Despite the extreme operating environment, he reports trouble-free unloading.

Regular maintenance

Southern Star Shipping looks after its investments well, carrying out regular maintenance in line with the operations manual. Wear parts are replaced as necessary and a number of upgrades have been made. When the vertical conveyor frequency converter failed, Bruks Siwertell responded immediately, sending spare parts and providing directions over the telephone.

Mr Fragkakis says the excellent working relationship with Bruks Siwertell personnel soon turned into friendship.