The Transshipment System is the fundamental element supporting CVG Ferrominera Orinoco\u2019s iron ore export program, serving customers located in Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n
It is composed of three Venezuelan\u2011flag vessels:<\/p>\n
- \n
- The transshipment station Boca Grande II<\/strong><\/li>\n
- The self\u2011unloading carrier M\/V R\u00edo Orinoco<\/strong><\/li>\n
- The self\u2011unloading carrier M\/V R\u00edo Caron\u00ed<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The system operates in four stages:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Loading<\/li>\n
- Transport<\/li>\n
- Unloading and storage<\/li>\n
- Loading of export vessels<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Navigation is carried out through the Orinoco River navigation channel and the Atlantic Ocean up to the Boca Grande II Transshipment Station<\/strong>, located at the mouth of the Macareo Channel near the Gulf of Paria.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ferrominera.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/operaciones-fluviales-estacion-transferencia.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe distance from Ferrominera\u2019s port to Boca Grande II is 293 nautical miles<\/strong>, and 178 nautical miles<\/strong> from the Punta Barima pilot station to Ferrominera\u2019s port.<\/p>\n
The river draft varies seasonally:<\/p>\n
- \n
- 32 feet<\/strong> during low\u2011water season (January\u2013February)<\/li>\n
- 44 feet<\/strong> during high\u2011water season (August\u2013September)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This variation directly affects the performance of the hauling system. Depending on the available draft, vessels can be loaded to different tonnages:<\/p>\n
- \n
- At 32 ft draft<\/strong>, vessels can load up to 46,000 tons<\/strong> of iron ore<\/li>\n
- At 44 ft draft<\/strong>, vessels can load up to 74,000 tons<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Draft varies along each segment of the navigation channel according to the loading table of the M\/V R\u00edo Caron\u00ed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
The Transshipment System is designed to transport 6,000,000 metric tons per year<\/strong>, as summarized below:<\/p>\n
Requirements for Dispatching 6 Million Tons of Iron Ore<\/strong><\/h3>\n
- \n
- Annual transported tonnage: 6,000,000 tons<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Number of vessels: 2<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Tonnage hauled per vessel per trip: 50,000 tons<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Trips per vessel per month: 5<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Total trips per vessel per year: 60<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Voyage cycle time: 6 days<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Boca Grande II Transshipment Station<\/h3>\n
The station is equipped with a self\u2011unloading conveyor system<\/strong> with a rate between 5,000 and 6,000 tons\/hour<\/strong>. It is fitted with four deck\u2011mounted cranes<\/strong> for unloading iron ore from non\u2011self\u2011unloading vessels at a rate of 35,000 tons\/day<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
The station can transfer iron ore to export vessels regardless of their size (length or beam), without requiring additional positioning maneuvers (mooring alongside), provided the vessel\u2019s deadweight tonnage (DWT) is 180,000 tons or less<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
The station operates under four loading\/unloading modes:<\/strong><\/p>\n
Mode I<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Self\u2011unloading vessels deliver ore through the boom conveyor into the starboard receiving hopper. The ore is then transferred to the cross\u2011conveyor and subsequently to the boom conveyor, which moves longitudinally along the port side to load the station\u2019s holds.<\/p>\n
Mode II<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Ore is delivered as in Mode I, but simultaneously transferred directly to the export vessel while also loading the station\u2019s holds.<\/p>\n
Mode III<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Non\u2011self\u2011unloading carriers moor on the starboard side of the station and are unloaded using four electro\u2011hydraulic cranes. Ore is placed into the station\u2019s holds and later transferred to export vessels as in Mode I.<\/p>\n
Mode IV<\/strong><\/h4>\n
The station unloads ore stored in its holds using its conveyor\u2011based cargo\u2011handling system. Ore is discharged through 81 hydraulic gates<\/strong> onto longitudinal conveyors (three aft, three forward), then transferred to the cross\u2011conveyor, lifted by the lift\u2011conveyor, and finally sent to the boom conveyor for loading into export vessel holds.<\/p>\n
Vessel Characteristics<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Boca Grande II<\/strong> is a self\u2011unloading and self\u2011loading vessel, converted from an OBO to a bulk carrier, with barge\u2011storage class notation. It has a static storage capacity of 120,000 tons<\/strong> and a nominal unloading rate of 6,000 t\/h<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
The R\u00edo Orinoco<\/strong> and R\u00edo Caron\u00ed<\/strong> are Panamax self\u2011unloading vessels with River Service class notation. They deliver ore to Boca Grande II at approximately 2,500 t\/h<\/strong> through Hopper 1. With maximum draft, these vessels haul 50,000 tons<\/strong>, and with minimum draft, 32,000 tons<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
\nFerrominera Orinoco Wharves<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ferrominera.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/operaciones-fluviales-carga-barco-550x286-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCVG Ferrominera Wharf<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Located at mile 184 of the Caron\u00ed River navigation channel. Characteristics:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Wharf type: 5 barges suspended on piles<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Length: 570 m<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Width: 25 m<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Depth (high water): 14 m<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Depth (low water): 10 m<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Maximum loading capacity: 6,000 t\/h<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Pal\u00faa Wharf<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Located at mile 182 of the Caron\u00ed River navigation channel. Characteristics:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Wharf type: 2 barges suspended on piles<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Length: 276 m<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Width: 21 m<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Depth (high water): 13 m<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Depth (low water): 9 m<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Maximum loading capacity: 1,500 t\/h<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#eeeeee” custom_padding=”|5px||5px|false|false” box_shadow_style=”preset3″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.7″ text_font=”|700||on|||||” text_font_size=”18px” text_letter_spacing=”1px” background_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” custom_padding=”20px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Shortcuts<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_sidebar show_border=”off” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}” body_text_color__hover_enabled=”on|hover” body_text_color__hover=”#d2091d”][\/et_pb_sidebar][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ width=”61%” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9saW5rX3VybF9wYWdlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsicG9zdF9pZCI6IjQzMiJ9fQ==@” button_text=”Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) Operations” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.7″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”16px” button_bg_color=”#d2091d” button_border_width=”1px” button_border_radius=”0px” button_icon=”#||divi||400″ button_icon_placement=”left” button_on_hover=”off” background_layout=”dark” hover_enabled=”0″ box_shadow_style=”preset3″ global_colors_info=”{}” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”on|desktop” button_bg_color__hover=”#d2091d” button_bg_enable_color__hover=”on” _dynamic_attributes=”button_url” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Technical overview of Ferrominera Orinoco\u2019s river logistics and transshipment system, including Boca Grande II, Panamax carriers, and high capacity conveyor operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-469","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ferrominera.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ferrominera.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ferrominera.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ferrominera.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ferrominera.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=469"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/ferrominera.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":492,"href":"https:\/\/ferrominera.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/469\/revisions\/492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ferrominera.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Length: 276 m<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Length: 570 m<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Number of vessels: 2<\/strong><\/li>\n
- At 44 ft draft<\/strong>, vessels can load up to 74,000 tons<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- 44 feet<\/strong> during high\u2011water season (August\u2013September)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- 32 feet<\/strong> during low\u2011water season (January\u2013February)<\/li>\n
- The self\u2011unloading carrier M\/V R\u00edo Orinoco<\/strong><\/li>\n