Client:
SMT Shipping deals with the supply of comprehensive logistics solutions in sea transport in bulk and general cargo. For more than 25 years, SMT Shipping has been providing reliable cargo handling through self-loading/unloading bulk carriers, pneumatic cement trucks and transshipments.
Offered solution:
The scope of work included the implementation of an automation system for loading and unloading bulk materials such as cement, volatile ash (using a pneumatic-mechanical system) on a Vesper barge moored in the port of Tilbury London.
As part of the work, the condition of the existing elements of the I&C installation was verified, a new system was designed and an algorithm for the PLC controlling the operation of the cargo system was created, a convenient graphical interface was created on two 12″ graphic panels and the system was launched on the object.
The control was carried out using a Siemens 1500 PLC and 8 distributed I/O sets (ET200SP islands). PLC performs all the functions of technological algorithms functionally divided into unloading material from individual holds through a buffer tank for tank trucks, aeration of the hold, loading of material from the ship to the barge with a pneumatic system through the hydraulic KOVACO arm or using the ship’s unloading system, unloading through the KOVACO arm directly to the tankers or measurement.
The operator has the ability to choose the manual mode of individual devices of the system and the full machine.
In addition to controlling the standard equipment of the cargo system, the measurement of barge immersion using the installed four radar devices has been added to the system. The system calculates the draft on this basis. This information helps in the even loading and unloading of goods.
Failure alarm, directly from the PLC level, is carried out through a beech and red-lit (flashing) elements.
Due to the considerable distance of the facility from the contractor’s office, a remote service connection based on the GPRS router was used.
Technical data:
| Communication protocol | Profinet |
| Sterownik PLC | Siemens S7-1500 + ET200SP |
| HMI | 2x Siemens TP1200 Comfort Panels |
| Remote connection | Using a GPRS router |
