Project Background
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) is a major 1,443-kilometer insulated 24-inch crude oil export pipeline that transports oil from Uganda’s Lake Albert region to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. The project is owned and managed by the EACOP consortium, which includes TotalEnergies, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).
The challenge: risks of traditional pipe handling
In the buffer yard in Dar es Salaam, a large volume of line pipe had to be safely and efficiently offloaded from incoming vessels, stored, and later reloaded for onward transport to the coating factory 600 kilometers inland. Traditional methods relying on conventional pipe hooks, slingers, and taglines exposed workers to significant hazards, including working directly in the line of fire, heavy physical strain, and the constant presence of multiple people in the danger zone.
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The Solution: Vlentec Vacuum Lifters Combined with Roborigger Technology
To eliminate these risks, the team implemented a fully hands-free solution by combining Vlentec vacuum lifters with Roborigger technology. Three Vlentec vacuum lifters were deployed to securely grip the pipes without any hooks, while the Roborigger used centrifugal forces generated by a spinning fan to precisely control pipe orientation. This approach removed the need for manual taglines, slingers, or hooking and unhooking, dramatically reducing the risk of accidents.
As a result, each crane team could be streamlined to just two people: one crane operator and one banksman. The system also enabled exceptionally high pipe stacking, with stacks reaching peak heights exceeding eight meters, all without any need for personnel to work at height.
Project Scope and Technical Specifications
Over the course of the operation, approximately 65,000 pipe joints passed through the buffer yard, arriving on 18 vessels. The pipes had a outer diameter of 24 inches (approximately 610 mm) and were coated with Fusion Bonded Epoxy (FBE). Wall thicknesses ranged from 10.54 mm (2.8 tonnes) to 23.83 mm (6.2 tonnes), with 99 percent of the pipes featuring the thinnest 10.54 mm wall. Lifting was performed using three XCMG 100A lattice boom crawler cranes, each with a 100-tonne working load limit, configured with a 34-meter boom, 35-tonne hook block, and 34 tonnes of counterweight. Trailer unloading times averaged 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the operator.
Results: Safety and Efficiency Milestones
The outcome was remarkable. The Dar es Salaam site quickly earned recognition as the safest and most efficient location across the entire EACOP project, receiving praise even from senior management. The operation recorded zero lost time injuries throughout its duration.
The combination of vacuum lifters and Roborigger proved far superior to traditional hook-based methods. The hands-free principle eliminated line-of-fire exposure, significantly reduced the number of people in the working area, prevented physical exhaustion, and lowered the likelihood of human error. Vacuum lifting emerged as the clear choice for pipe handling operations, offering unmatched safety and vastly improved efficiency.
Embracing Innovation Over Convention
According to the project team, the Vlentec machines were outstanding: incredibly durable, straightforward to maintain, user-friendly, and exceptionally well designed and constructed. Without this equipment, the project would likely have faced serious difficulties. The company made a deliberate choice to embrace modern technology rather than sticking to familiar practices. At the outset, the approach was viewed as somewhat unconventional, and few believed it would succeed, but the results proved the skeptics wrong.
Vlentec’s support played a vital role in the success. Any issues were addressed immediately through phone or WhatsApp, with rapid diagnostics and fixes. The built-in safety features, redundancy systems, and overall build quality impressed the team, while the ease of use and maintenance proved essential to sustained high performance. Ultimately, this combination of Vlentec vacuum lifters and Roborigger was a major factor in the team being recognized as the top-performing contractor on the project in terms of both safety and operational efficiency.
