22 plant modules shipped to Texas by AAL
The breakbulk and project heavy lift carrier AAL has shipped 22 petrochemical plant modules from the Wilson Heavy Industry Company in Nantong (China), to the ethylene glycol II expansion project (EGEP) in Point Comfort TX (USA) on behalf of the Pacific Ocean Group.
The 22 modules – 26,000 cbm in total and weighing 1,280 t – were loaded in Nantong and transported on a single sailing to Point Comfort aboard the 31,000 dwt vessel “AAL Pusan”. The shipment used half the vessel’s 40,000 cbm intake capacity, with several units stowed away in holds and others lashed onto the weather deck.
The EGEP is operated by Nan Ya Plastics, a division of the Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics Corporation. Once installed, the modules will aid in the production of ethylene glycol – an odourless and colourless organic compound used to make automotive antifreeze, hydraulic fluids, printing inks, and paint solvents. It is also used as a reagent in the polyester, resin, and synthetic wax manufacturing processes. (kd)