Barring any unforeseen circumstance, especially bad marine and weather conditions, the 225-megawatt power barge from Turkey will arrive in Ghana and dock at Tema next Wednesday, November 25, 2015.
According to www.marinetraffic.com, the website where the semi-submersible Black Marlin vessel which is transporting the barge from Turkey can be tracked, it will dock at Abidjan, capital of Ivory Coast, on Sunday, November 22, 2015.
The Finder’s investigations indicate that the semi-submersible ship will dock in Abidjan and offload the power barge there because Ghana’s seas are not deep enough for the Black Marlin ship.
As a result, sources said a tug board will then pull the power barge from Ivory Coast to Ghana, which is expected to take at least another two days, and it will arrive in Ghana latest next Wednesday, November 25.
As at the time of filing this report yesterday, information on the tracking website indicates the power barge is on the sea of Atlantic North.
The Latest Position was indicating as In Range while the status was underway.
The Speed/Course was 11.7kn/212° while the Latitude/Longitude was 23.10424°/-17.24224°.
Fuel for power barge
It is estimated that the barge will consume about 30,000 metric tonnes of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) every month at a cost of between $7 million and $9 million depending on current crude oil price movements.
If the power barge was using crude oil, the 30,000 metric tonnes would cost between $11 million and $12 million a month.
An offshore storage facility will supply fuel to the power.
Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) is funding the provision of the fuel upfront, which will be supplied by Trafigura, a global trading businesses, including the supply and offtake of crude oil, petroleum products, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and Karpowership Ghana will reimburse GNPC with proceeds from power sold.
According to GNPC, the power barge from Karpowership Ghana Company Limited, a subsidiary of Turkish Karadeniz Holding, is coming with a shuttle vessel, which would evacuate HFO fuel from the offshore storage facility to fuel the power barge.
Mr Baidoo disclosed that the offshore storage facility has a capacity of between 60,000 and 70,000 metric tonnes of HFO.
However, after three months, this vessel would be replaced by a bigger offshore storage facility with a capacity of more than 100,000 metric tonnes of HFO.
At any point in time, the offshore storage facility should have 60,000 metric tonnes of fuel available for use by the power barge.
The refuelling of the offshore storage facility would be carried out every other month to ensure continue supply.
GNPC guaranteed the first barge at a cost of $50 million because it is the main supplier of fuel to the barges.
What you should know about semi-submersible ships
Semi-submersible ships are the only vessels capable of loading, transporting and offloading extremely heavy equipment.
These mighty ships are used to carry entire gas refineries, huge oil drilling rigs, and even warships and submarines on lengthy journeys across the globe.
Semi-submersibles have large, open decks designed to accommodate their colossal cargo.
This type of vessel is also known as a "flo/flo", short for "float-on/float-off", and can carry loads weighing from 50 to 45,000 tonnes.
The ship’s ballast tanks are flooded with water so that the deck is lowered beneath the surface.
Large oil platforms, industrial plants, other ships and boats, or whatever the floating cargo comprises, can then be positioned for loading.
When the water is pumped out of the ballast tanks, the deck rises to take the full weight of the load, which is then firmly secured before beginning its journey.
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