Liberty Galati faces technical setback days after relighting BF No5
Operations at rolling mills were scheduled to commence next week using feedstock that has already been produced.
On June 12, BF No5 was stopped due to a technical failure, just days after it was restarted following more than a year of downtime, multiple source told Fastmarkets.
The accident overnight June 12 involved a detached “salamander” – a solid accumulation of molten iron and slag – that broke free and blocked the furnace’s drain outlets. This forced an emergency shutdown, sources familiar with the matter said.
They added that production could resume after the blockage was cleared if no further damage were found.
Liberty did not comment on the nature of the accident, noting out that its plan was to resume steel production at Galati as planned.
“The blast furnace is in the process of increasing and stabilizing production,” Liberty’s spokesperson told Fastmarkets on June 13. “During this phase, technical adjustments are necessary, and our team is focused on managing safely a technical issue caused by the rapid cooling of the liquids, which will be resolved soon.
“With raw materials in stock and a solid supply chain, Liberty Galați continues to produce high-quality steel and will start deliveries to customers,” the spokesperson added.
Despite the accident, plans to resume rolling mill operations seemed to be unaffected, and volumes of semi-finished steel products have already been accumulated.
“Liberty Galați successfully started its production operations last week, including the blast furnace, sinter plant and steel shop, and it has already produced more than 15,000 tonnes of slab for rolling, to commence next week,” the spokesperson said.
The company restarted BF No5 on June 4 [LINK]. The equipment was idled in May 2024 amid difficult market conditions.
The Galati steelworks, islocated on the west bank of the River Danube, in southeastern Romania. It has capacity for 3.5 million tonnes per year of hot-rolled coil, 1 million tpy of cold-rolled coil, 1.2 million tpy of steel plate and 350,000 tpy of hot-dipped galvanized coil, according to Fastmarkets’ information.
The company has five BFs with combined capacity for more than 6 million tpy of pig iron, but at present only the 2 million-tpy BF No5 is in operation.
