Holzhauer-Pumpen supplies fire protection for first LNG terminal in Germany

Holzhauer-Pumpen supplies stationary fire protection for the first German terminal for liquid natural gas (LNG), in Wilhelmshaven. The contract includes engineering, manufacture, delivery and installation, and maintenance of the stationary fire protection systems. The client is the entrepreneur Uniper.

The prefabricated pumping station from Holzhauer-Pumpen was developed, manufactured and tested by a five-man project team over a period of six months at the site in Karben, Hesse. The system was delivered to Wilhelmshaven by heavy goods transport and installed and commissioned there within a period of three weeks.

Seawater-proof and explosion-proof

The finished pump station is powered by two redundant 500 hp fire pump units with exhaust gas after-treatment system. The two 16-metre-long seawater-resistant Vertical Turbines pumps, which are protected from waves and ice, pump the extinguishing water at a rate of more than 13,000 litres per minute in an emergency – the equivalent to filling a large bathtub every second.

Extremely strict safety regulations apply to the project, which required, for example, very elaborate product and manufacturing documentation. In addition, Holzhauer-Pumpen created a detailed logistics concept with its suppliers in order to deliver more than 23 tonnes of supplier components by air freight on schedule. As a result, Holzhauer-Pumpen was able to deliver the finished pump station to the customer, Uniper, on time, despite worldwide supply bottlenecks and logistics problems.

The finished pump station is located directly on the LNG terminal, permanently exposed to the effects of salt water and wind. Particularly resistant CuNiFe alloys and high-quality duplex stainless steel were used. These materials have another advantage: the use of chemicals against marine fouling is not necessary.

Extensive testing

Due to the required seawater suitability, all components – from the smallest ball valve to the main butterfly valves – underwent extensive technical testing.

Prior to delivery, the client, Uniper, checked the technical parameters of all main components at the Holzhauer-Pumpen site in Karben as part of a remote acceptance test. To meet the tight schedule, Uniper also carried out regular visual and document checks at Holzhauer-Pumpen's suppliers. Also, extensive acceptance procedures were carried out at upstream suppliers, at the Holzhauer pump manufacturing facility, and at the construction site.

Commissioning and sustainability

The commissioning at the terminal was carried out under high safety precautions, partly in very rough weather conditions and under time pressure. The installation of the components, some of which weigh several tonnes and are up to 16 metres long, had to be carried out with millimetre precision.

In order to keep the environmental impact of the system as low as possible, more than 99.9% of all soot particles are captured via an exhaust gas purification system. The system is designed and constructed in such a way that even a clogged exhaust gas purification filter does not affect the performance of the fire extinguishing system. The fuel system has been designed according to the requirements of the AwSV to prevent fuel leakage into the environment. The catch basins are equipped with leakage monitoring, which is connected to the control centre via an automatic reporting system.