Pulau Tekong project in Singapore: Mammoet selected for transport of giant barges

Mammoet said that they have successfully completed the complex recovery and relocation of 12 giant barges for a capital land reclamation project on an offshore island in Singapore.

This massive project, known as Pulau Tekong Polder, is being led by Singapore’s Housing Development Board and executed by the Boskalis Penta Ocean joint venture (BPJV) to reclaim some 800 hectares of land using the “empoldering” technique.

Unlike traditional land reclamation, which involves infilling with sand, the empoldering approach creates a low-lying tract of land, known as a polder, by constructing a dike around the area and draining water from it. The dike shields the polder from the sea, and water levels are controlled by a network of drains and pumps.

A total of twelve barges, ranging in weight from 680t to 990t, had to be recovered from the stormwater collection pond, transported across the newly built haul road to the dike, and launched back into the sea.

“The project advanced in carefully planned phases. Mammoet used 68 airbags and four winches, with capacities ranging from 60t to 85t, to retrieve and launch each barge from the designated pond. Precision and careful management were essential to ensuring the safe extraction of the barges,” the company said. 

Airbags were placed under the bow of each barge, and once all cables were connected, two winches pulled the barge out of the water to a point where 18 climbing jacks were positioned.

Once the barge was retrieved, it was jacked up to allow the airbags to be removed and SPMTs (Self-Propelled Modular Transporters) were inserted underneath.  

The SPMTs then transported each barge to the launch area, to be set afloat. The launch process mirrored the retrieval operation, and this was repeated for all twelve barges, Mammoet concluded.