RAVEN ENERGY MARINE TERMINAL EXPANSION

Convent, Louisiana

Raven Energy’s dock project extended their existing ship loading facility 1500 feet upstream and effectively doubled their material handling capacity by allowing two ships to berth simultaneously. The expanded structure supported additional conveyors and ship loaders for the transfer of coal near mile 160 on the Lower Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

The expansion is supported by over 350 precast concrete and steel pipe piling ranging in size from 30-inch to 42-inch and from 135 feet to 230 feet in length, in water depths varying from 30 feet to over 100 feet. To determine final pile lengths, fifteen test piles were driven throughout the footprint of the expansion, each with PDA instrumentation attached to collect data while driving. One of each of the three different types of pile was chosen for a static load test ranging between 300 tons and 600 tons.

Permanent piling was installed either plumb or at a 4:12 batter and topped with a 4-foot-thick, cast-in-place reinforced concrete deck that supports the three new ship loading structures. The cast-in-place concrete shiploader structures are connected by precast slabs with six-inch concrete topping placements to allow vehicular traffic across all structures.

In addition to our contract work, Massman also assisted Sarens, a heavy lift and hauling company, in offloading two stacker reclaimer units with our Manitowoc 7000 ringer crane. These components ranged in weight from 30 to 105 tons and were set on Saren’s transporters, which then hauled them from the river’s edge, over the levee, and into Convent Marine’s yard where final assembly took place.