Thinking out of the box

Being a tank terminal, ITC Rubis have expanded their core business in deciding to offer solutions for this type of activity. Besides offering storage and transshipment of liquefied gases, ITC Rubis are now also able to transload these products. During the entire operation there is no tank involved as intermediary storage, contrary to what is the case at other tank terminals. The vessel pumps the product directly into the rail tank cars (RTCs) through a pipeline via a loading arm.

ITC Rubis is the only location in the port of Antwerp providing this type of operation. Considering the large demand for importing liquefied gases into the ARA region and the fact that only very few facilities can store, transship and/or transload them, this installation provides a much needed service for the customer.

The operation will also play a major role in shifting volume from road transportation to the more efficient and ecological rail transport mode and will contribute to the reduction of CO2 emission in the port of Antwerp.

Vessel – Pipeline – RTC

Along with the investment in the construction of the transloading installation, ITC Rubis have also invested in the expansion of their rail infrastructure. The transloading operation involves pumping the product from the vessel via a pipeline directly into the RTCs which are connected to the gas RTC loading station. This loading station has been expanded from two loading positions to eight positions in total (i.e. four on each track). This enables ITC Rubis to unload the vessel directly into four rail tank cars simultaneously. Apart from the extension of the loading station ITC Rubis have also expanded their rail track capacity by building extra rail tracks along the length of the terminal to enable storing and shunting of the block trains in an efficient manner.

The installation will be suitable for all C3 and C4 gases. Typical C4 gases which will be handled are isobutane, butadiene and crude C4 whereas propylene will be the main C3 gas. However, other liquefied C3 and C4 gases can be handled as well.

Meeting new logistic demands

More and more, flexibility is becoming the key issue in the tank terminal industry. Customers nowadays wish to move their product with as much flexibility as possible. Considering this market demand, it was logical for ITC Rubis to introduce the new transloading facilities. In doing so, customers without tank storage at the terminal are now able to utilize the transloading facility, thereby moving additional products, which could not be moved before due to logistic limitations.