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Customer: South32 Contract: Construct Only Location: Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory   |
Fast Facts:
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Following a destructive tropical cyclone, we were engaged by South32 to urgently restore and rebuild the cyclone-damaged GEMCO Wharf on Groote Eylandt. In less than 12 months, our project team achieved a major milestone—restarting operations after an intense and fast-tracked program of works.
To meet the challenge, we mobilised a sophisticated marine fleet from across Australia, Singapore, and the UAE. This included two large jack-up barges (Santa Fe and Pauline), two smaller jack-ups (Sealift 2 and Sealift 6), a 250-tonne crane barge, three flattop storage barges, and a support fleet of tugs and work punts. The mobilisation alone was a feat of logistics, setting the stage for a highly coordinated recovery effort.
Demolition and salvage works were undertaken in shark, crocodile, and stingray-populated waters, requiring over 500 commercial dives and a robust safety-first approach. A total of 1,037 tonnes of concrete and 998 tonnes of steel were removed from the seabed.
The reconstruction phase involved the installation of 28 new piles and the placement of 13 large prefabricated modular steel units in under two months—a testament to both planning and execution under pressure.
Construction continued around the clock through Christmas, public holidays, and the peak of the wet season. Our team managed three cyclone warnings and entered full lockdown once but remained steadfast in delivering outcomes for our customer. The use of modular construction accelerated progress and helped the team overcome the complex site conditions and weather-related disruptions.
The project was a showcase of resilience, creativity, and determination. With over 317,000 hours worked, the successful resumption of operations marks the project as both a technical and human achievement. The GEMCO Wharf recovery demonstrates our strength in rapid mobilisation, marine construction, and working collaboratively to deliver critical infrastructure under exceptional circumstances.
