HOBAS Ensures Safe Sea Water Discharge in France

Corrosive seawater and abrasive sludge cannot do them any harm: HOBAS GRP Pipes have been chosen as best solution for the safe evacuation of a newly built dry dock in the renowned shipyard “Chantiers de l’Atlantique”. Saint-Nazaire is a commune in western France with a major harbor, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town has a tradition of shipbuilding which started in the 19th century, when the industry was relocated there from the city of Nantes. Saint-Nazaire’s shipyard “Chantiers de l’Atlantique” counts among the largest in the world and is operated by STX France S.A., a subsidiary of the South Korean company STX Offshore &, Shipbuilding. , In 2014, STX France started to modernize its facilities. The works involved the construction of a new dry dock for undertaking inspections on the vessels and repair hulls. The dry dock is a large basin that is connected to the sea. Vessels that need to be inspected enter the dock, which at this point is filled with sea water. Then the basin is emptied with the help of a sophisticated pumping system: At a rate of 2000 m3 per hour, six pumps at the bottom of the basin pump the water out into a tank, from where it is led into discharge pipes and returned to the river Loire and further on to the ocean. , Once the ship is dry-docked, the maintenance works can begin. The main project specification was for the pumping and discharge system to evacuate 440,000 m³ of sea water in a maximum of 36 hours. The company SADE won the contract for building the new dry dock and chose HOBAS as reliable partner for the realization of this challenging performance target. HOBAS France designed 216 meters of custom-tailored GRP pipes DN 1200, PN 6, SN 10000 and one tailor-made tank, which were delivered to Saint-Nazaire. Their high-performance properties and long lifetime of more than 50 years make HOBAS Pipes perfectly suited for such challenging projects: They resist the dangers of corrosion and abrasion caused by sea water and sludge and their light weight and easy handling makes them ideal for the limited space conditions on site. , The installation has been completed within one month only and the tank and pipes have been subject to a final thorough test which they successfully passed. ,The new dry dock is now operating smoothly to the complete satisfaction of the ,customer. ,