Project Overview

SEA-Tank Terminal builds and manages tank storage and handling sites in Belgium and France. In Belgium it has four state of the art storage and handling sites around the port of Antwerp and one in Ghent. These provide storage for millions of cubic metres of liquids, such as highly flammable petrochemicals.

The products stored in the tanks can easily catch fire or explode with potentially disastrous consequences. It is therefore vital for these sites not only to maintain an alert and effective fire monitoring and detection system, but also to have highly effective suppression and extinguishing systems in place.

The SEA-Tank sites are a mixture of new build sites and existing storage plants and the fire protection system challenges vary accordingly.

Specialising in fire protection solutions for tank storage companies, Chubb creates bespoke solutions depending on what the tank holds, to minimise fire damage to people and assets. The level of fire risk means that each tank needs to have its own protection system, detection, alarm, suppression and extinguishing system, based on what it holds. This creates a challenging and evolving environment for Chubb as the fire security provider.

One of the two new sites, SEA-Tank700B in Antwerp can store one million cubic metres of petrochemicals across 30 tanks. Each tank requires detection, suppression, cooling and extinguishing systems in order to minimise the risk of fire spread to other tanks.

Customer Needs

• Contain and protect assets
• Protect workers and the physical environment
• Ensure efficiency and immediacy of fire detection
• Facilitate speed of fire suppression response

Solution and Benefits

A solution was developed across all SEA-Tank Terminal installations to ensure effective fire alarm and detection for each tank, as well as ongoing maintenance of all fire risks.

Chubb created a comprehensive package including fire detection and monitoring alerts. This detection platform works to contain and protect all assets stored within SEA-Tank Terminal storage tanks, ensuring that in the event of combustion, the fire is contained, and the environment controlled until the systems are sufficiently cooled and fire suppression teams are deployed. Ultimately the possibility of an explosion is avoided.

In addition to the challenge of protecting highly flammable and corrosive liquids, the complexity of the storage tanks sites and wider network means that it is critical for Chubb to manage all project installations, avoid delays and align with the supply chain in order to effectively time the installation of detection equipment.

To maximise the quality of fire monitoring and detection services, Chubb created a tailored and innovative solution with consistent quality control processes in place across all SEA-Tank Terminal sites.

Project Summary

A spokesperson for SEA-Tank Terminal, said: "We have a long-standing relationship with Chubb, and we have consistently been satisfied with their service across all projects. We are always confident in Chubb's ability to provide the right solutions and dedicated support, at a competitive price. They are the experts in managing fire protection for petrochemical tank storage solutions."