LOCATION
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

CLIENT
Department of the Navy

PARTICIPANTS
Abhe & Svoboda, Inc.

SCOPE OF WORK
Abrasive Blasting
Coatings & Linings
Electrical

VALUE
$5.3 million

SCHEDULE
2005

The Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is the oldest overseas US military base. It is a major fueling station for military ships and aircraft in the Caribbean. Each year, 16 million gallons of fuel are used to refuel more than 200 ships and numerous aircraft. There are three fuel farms at Guantanamo Bay storing different grades of fuel - vehicle gasoline, diesel fuel, and aviation fuel (JP-5).

The facilities at the Lassiter Fuel Farm includes several 80 year-old underground concrete storage tanks, which have not been utilized since 1999. In 2005, Abhe & Svoboda, Inc. refurbished these tanks to make them serviceable again. The work involved cleaning and hazardous waste removal, structural steel repairs and upgrades, painting, roofing, and electrical work.

This project was the first time U.S. Navy engineers had attempted to retrofit square concrete tanks with circular steel linings. Since these tanks were unique, there was little or no engineering and construction history to provide background knowledge and experience for installing a steel lining system of this type.

Before construction could start, the tanks needed to be free from sludge, dirt, and standing liquids. Almost 3600 liters of hazardous waste was removed from the storage tanks. Once clean, steel tank fabrication liners with coating were installed. This project required approximately 157,500 square feet of abrasive blasting to clean the steel surfaces. Following blasting operations, a NRL latex lining system was applied. 

Additional upgrades were also needed in order to comply with current safety and environmental regulations, such as the provision of new leak detection system, which included 16" motorized valves, 8" isolation valves with associated piping, electrical, and alarms.

The tank refurbishment project took almost a full year to complete.  One of the bigger challenges was the necessity to transport equipment and materials from the states.