Tata Motors leading the way with ready-to-use tankers

Petroleum transport sector to benefit from fully-built solutions

Tata Motors, numero uno in the domestic market, is all set to take the Indian commercial vehicle segment one notch up with its ready-to-use tanker vehicles. With the requirement of diesel and petrol bound to increase, owing to the rapidly growing vehicle population, the company has come out with innovative products to cater to the growing requirements in the petroleum transportation sector in the country.

Petroleum (Amendment) Rules 2011

As per Petroleum Rules 2002, the net carrying capacity of a tank truck or a tank semi-trailer for A and B type products was restricted to 25KL.

The Petroleum (Amendment) Rules 2011 effective from December 2011 had substituted two major changes following which the net carrying capacity of a tank truck or tank semi-trailer shall not exceed 40KL Petroleum Products.

The amendment had also allowed the use of ‘other suitable material’ in place of ‘iron and steel’.

With the above two changes, the oil industry is set to witness a dramatic shift in the transportation of petroleum products from the existing rigid trucks to trailers which would go a long way in reducing operating costs. Another encouraging fact is the permission for the usage of alternative material like aluminum, stainless steel, fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) for making the tanker.

Tata Motors’ tailor-made solutions

The transportation of petroleum products from oil depots to retail outlets is primarily done by tankers and currently more than 85 per cent of the petroleum tankers are fabricated by the unorganized sector.

The petroleum transporters get chassis from manufacturers and fabricate the tank according to their specific needs.

There is no proper integration of tank and chassis due to which serviceability is a major concern and even the design, material and manufacturing do not meet the required standards.

The need of the hour for oil companies is vehicles with latest security and safety features which could help reduce pilferage. Taking the above factors into consideration, Tata Motors has decided to bring out tailor made products like the fully-built tanker and being the first vehicle manufacturer to come up with fully-built solutions, the company is keen on capturing a sizable market share in the segment.

Tata Motors currently offers a range of ready-to-use hydrocarbon tankers for the petroleum sector. It starts from a 12 KL tanker on an LPT 1613 platform and includes an 18 or 20 KL version on an LPT 2518 platform. It also has a 24 KL model on an LPT 3118 platform. These tankers cater to the needs of retail outlets and stocking points depending on the outlet size and operating distance.

Highlights of the Tata fully-built Hydrocarbon Tanker:

  • D-Shape tanker: It helps in reducing the CG which in turn helps in better manouvrability and stability of the vehicle.
  • Tank material and thickness: As recommended by CCOE, IS 2062 grade steel with 3.15 mm thickness is used.
  • Security locking system: Installed as per regulation and guidelines of oil companies.
  • Full-length Z section bottom support: The tank is mounted on a full-length Z section bottom support to ensure safety of main chassis frame.
  • Chassis-body integration using U-bolts and U-bolt guides: Proper integration of body with chassis using U-bolts and U-bolt guides to ensure long life of chassis / body long runner.

Also, leveraging on the new amendments and its technical expertise, the company has conceived a customized solution for Reliance Industries Ltd. on an LPS 4923 platform called the LPS 4923 -35 KL Semi Trailer Hydrocarbon Tanker. Reliance has taken 35 units of the hydrocarbon tanker through its dedicated transporters for transport of petroleum products from its Hazira plant to various locations in India. The first batch of vehicles was handed over to Siddhi Vinayak Logistics Ltd. (Tata Key Account Transporter).

The LPS 4923 -35 KL Hydrocarbon Tanker has been designed in conformity to API (American Petroleum Institute) RP 1004 with bottom loading vapor recovery system to meet Reliance’s requirements. Tankers are fabricated at NS Ramarao Body Works, Chennai, which is one of the best tanker fabricators in the country and also the approved tanker fabricator for Tata Motors and also leading oil companies (HPCL, IOCL and BPCL).

Key aspects of the 35 KL Hydrocarbon Tanker:

  • Bottom loading facility (Courtesy: OPW) – Ensures safer filling, less vapor loss and lesser pollution.
  • The tanker is equipped with over-fill protection sensor and pneumatic operating valves.
  • Emergency shutdown push button for cutting off bottom master valves instantly while loading and unloading.
  • The tanker trailer is equipped with Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) – (Courtesy: Knorr Bremse)

Tata Motors is also planning to come up with a 40 KL Aluminum tanker on the Prima 4928 for transportation of petroleum products. Aluminium offers a host of benefits for petroleum transportation, the primary one being weight reduction, as it weighs just one-third when compared to steel. The low material weight facilitates increased payloads to be transported. Another important benefit offered by aluminium is corrosion resistance, which eliminates the need for any painting or coating, while there is no contamination of the transported products either. Aluminium also has twice the life cycle when compared to that of mild steel.

Bottom Loading

Globally, bottom loading is the most preferred option for loading petroleum products.

It brings with it a set of advantages one being the reduced turbulence in the tank thereby reducing the danger of generating static electricity. The safety of the person operating the loading arm is enhanced since the operator remains on the ground and not on top of the vehicle where falls are a common threat. With connections made quicker, the overall loading time is also reduced. A loading rate of 2500 LPM can be achieved through bottom loading as compared to the conventional rate of 1000 LPM in top loading tank trucks.

Future of Petroleum Tanker Business in India

India is aiming to emerge a refining hub because of several competitive advantages including low construction cost, low operating cost and less stringent environment norms, apart from the tax and fiscal incentives to new refineries by the Government of India.

Recent capacity additions announced by the public and private sector players indicate that almost 40 to 50 MMTPA of additional refining capacity will be added by 2013-14, bringing the total available capacity from the existing 190 MMTPA to 240 MMTPA. As per the projections made by Mr. Vinod Sahay, Head-Sales & Marketing, M&HCV Trucks, Tata Motors, the total number of petroleum tankers required in 2012 -13 would be around 7000 units while the number of vehicles required in the sector is expected to increase by 10 to 15 per cent every year, in line with the expansion projections of oil companies.

Need for standardization

The oil companies follow the DOT – 406 Standard in America and in Europe, the EU Standard. In India, the oil companies have different locking systems for manhole covers and different color schemes for the required tankers. In want of a standard system, vehicle manufacturers including Tata Motors are unable to go for mass production of ready-to-use tankers. “If the oil companies could come up with a common locking system, we could then see the start of mass production of ready-to-use tankers to cater to the growing transportation requirements of oil companies”, says Mr. Ilangovan, Head – Sectorial Initiatives, CVBU, Tata Motors.