The first-ever four-month outage was conducted at the Kooragang Terminal from July to November. The planning was complex and commenced two years prior to the outage. A total of 850 structural actions and ten strategic projects were completed with 270 additional contractors onsite contributing to 150,000 worker hours undertaken specifically for these works.

Included in these projects were the refurbishment works on Shiploader 7.09 and a reclaimer bucketwheel changeout. 

The Shiploader 7.09 refurbishment project utilised 88,000 worker hours over 119 days, more than half of the total hours for the outage. More than 420 tonnes of scaffolding was erected with 20 tonnes of encapsulation to protect the works from weather and potential environmental impact. 

A bucketwheel changeout is a rare occurrence for our machines. The last time the bucketwheel was taken off machine 4.60 was 25 years ago! Success relied on teamwork, planning, precision and a whole lot of dry ice to shrink the shaft so the bucketwheel could be removed safely. This project was the last of the four reclaimers to be changed out making Kooragang Terminal fit for the future.