The first part of this journey required the cargo to be transported by road to Felixstowe Port where it would be loaded onto the vessel. The cargo (weighing 35000kgs with dimensions 155 x 37 x 35 meters) was to be shipped as break bulk to Veracruz for the Oil & Gas Industry.

Due to there being no break bulk services between UK and Mexico, Tuscor Lloyds had to use experience and knowledge to arrange shipment of this break bulk piece on a standard container vessel. This type of loading method, whilst available in the industry can prove to be an operational challenge for many container lines. In order to achieve such method of shipment, special attention and care must be paid to the safe loading of the cargo and the securing by on-board stevedores under the deck of the vessel.

The cargo was transported by sea into Veracruz Port where it was carefully discharged from the container vessel directly onto our customer’s truck waiting in the port.

Our customer used to spend a lot of money moving similar break bulk cargo to Mexico. They used to ship via a break bulk service from Belgium and the costs were high. Our customer was extremely happy with the smooth operation Tuscor Lloyds provided. Their cargo arrived Mexico earlier than expected, and most importantly of all at lower freight rate than they would normally pay.

The mobile concrete batching plant was to be delivered to one of the biggest cement companies in the world and the deadline could not be missed. Using our knowledge and local contacts we arranged for multimodal transport by road and sea which would deliver the cargo to Mexico City within the timeframe.

Tuscor Lloyds picked up the cargo from the manufacturers in Mercia, Spain and loaded it on to a truck, from here it was transported by road to our warehouses in Valencia where it was then loaded onto a 40’ flat rack which we located specifically for this shipment.

Due to the shape and size (13.8m x 2.85m x 4m) of the cargo the stevedores had to specially lash the cargo to ensure it was safe and secure for transport by road and sea.

The cargo was safely transported and loaded at the Port of Valencia and shipped as out of gauge cargo to Veracruz, Mexico for unloading. The mobile concrete batching plant was unloaded without any problems and once ready the cargo was transported by road to Mexico City.

Each of the Wooden Cases were positioned by heavy wooden chocks, nailed into the flat rack beds and positioned to give support in all directions. The cases were without suitable lashing points, and in fact although the base sections were relatively strong, the upper parts of the cases were quite weak and flexible. Securing was accomplished by using webbing straps, each tensioned by its own ratchet. These were attached to the lashing points on the flat racks. The positioning of the webbing straps gave sufficient support to the cases in all directions, meeting the requirements of the IMO Guidelines for Cargo Stowage and Securing. The lifting and securing operations throughout were conducted in a safe and professional manner and to the satisfaction of the ships’ Captain.

As the cargo had been held up the week before it was imperative all was loaded well and carried to destination on time. With the site presence throughout loading of Tuscor Lloyds own surveyor (and the constant contact with the company’s project managers during the small hours of a Sunday morning) problems during loading were overcome quickly. To the great relief of the shipper, this site coordination ensured the cargo was sent safely on its way on time.

Once the truck and trailer where portside, the Cable Drum was released and lifted on to a neighbouring maafi where it was dropped into the cradle and spreader beam that would secure it on the vessel. The drum was lifted again along with fixings into the vessels hold and secured across three flatrack containers.

The cradle was positioned on the flat racks by nailed heavy wooden wedges and further secured by 10ft webbing lashes, taken out to lashing points on the flat racks and secured and tightened using their own ratchets. Eight more lashings were taken directly from the radial arms of the reel and down to convenient lashing points on the flat racks and tensioned. The securing was completed and approved by the ship’s Duty officer and the drum was on its way to Singapore the following day.

Once arrived at Singapore the Cable Drum was unloaded without problems and on carried to its destination within time and all to the satisfaction of our client.

The capsule measured 6m long x 4.5m wide and 4.5m high and was successfully loaded on to a single flat rack at Port Klang in Malaysia ready to be shipped as Out of Gauge to Felixstowe in the United Kingdom where it was then on-carried to the service base in Great Yarmouth.

Thanks to the expert knowledge of our projects team the shipment was carried out without a hitch and delivered successfully, repaired and returned safely to Malaysia.

The shipment is part of a newly constructed Biomass power plant. The boiler, shipped as a single piece weighing 115 metric tons and measuring 1425cm long x 400cm wide x 425cm high, had proved extremely challenging in China and the final leg was to be equally as difficult.

The first problem occurred almost immediately when the vessel arrived in Trieste. The wires provided by the manufacturers for lifting the cargo were condemned and destroyed by the Italian authorities. The boiler was loaded as break bulk cargo on board a container vessel so there was a restricted window of time to discharge the cargo before the ship had to leave port. At short notice and for little cost, the experienced local agents used by Tuscor Lloyds managed to avert disaster by borrowing some cables locally. The cargo was duly discharged using 2 mobile coordinated cranes.

As the vessel arrived in the middle of a public holiday, the customs entry would be delayed. Tuscor Lloyds arranged for a temporary trailer for storage and mobility in port. This would be much more cost effective to use in port than the highly specialised 30m long, 13 axel, modularised low load trailer which would be required for the delivery by road.

The delays were next compounded by a number of different issues. There was an Italian public service general strike and the local customs office shut down. The cargo waited in port for longer than expected which was just as well, as the steel work at the delivery point was not ready to receive the boiler in any case.

Last minute checks to the road route revealed additional problems. Road works started by the highways authorities a week before required urgent re-planning of the route. The road permits had to be adjusted, which is difficult to do at short notice. Finally when customs authorities gave the green light the cargo was transferred late at night to the specialist road trailer and left the port area.

The size of the cargo is the maximum possible for much of Italy’s road network. In this case there were numerous pinch points and obstructions on the route. A team of contractors travelled with the cargo suitably equipped to infill dips in the road and remove signs and tree branches over hanging the route where required. The final test came when heavy rainfall hindered their progress to the power station in Venice.

After a slow and careful journey over 3 nights the shipment was nearing the delivery point. The welders had finished the steel work just in time and the crane was in place ready to lift the unit to the steelwork. The rain continued to fall and the sloping site became a mud bath. It would no longer be safe to bring the trailer in with its heavy payload. With some quick action by the team on the ground and coordination with Tuscor Lloyds project managers a solution was quickly found. Sufficient thickness of hardcore was compacted over the mud to enable the trailer to be unloaded safely.

The boiler was finally unloaded in bright sunshine and safely placed on the newly finished steelwork, as everyone breathed a sigh of relief for the completion of this mammoth job. Huge investments of time and finance were required to see the shipment through. It’s hard to imagine a more difficult and time consuming logistics project. Tuscor Lloyds team of project managers will not forget this job which over 3 months had ups, downs and severe crises but in the end it was done in time and on budget.

To read about the first leg of this journey please click this link: A Chinese Epic

Tuscor Lloyds prides itself on the experience and problem solving abilities of our Projects Team so when the break bulk shipment of 115 tonne power station boiler, transported from Hunan province in China to Venice in Italy, was first pitched to us we readily agreed to take on the challenge. When the time came we were worried about sending a member of our team to China as the news broke of the Japan Earthquake, the subsequent Tsunami and radioactive spillage from the Fukushima Nuclear Reactor affecting the region. After monitoring the situation carefully however, the company felt that any risk to Neel’s safety was negligible and he promptly flew out to China to begin overseeing the project.

The first problem encountered was due to the boiler’s dimensions, 1425cm long x 400cm wide x 425cm high. The height meant that it was necessary to make use of a specialised low load trailer to ensure safe navigation of bridges along the road between the shipper’s door and the port. This solution however created its own set of problems as undulations in the road surface halted progress on several occasions. A specialist team of surveyors and trailer operators followed the cargo along the full 1242km route to Shanghai solving problems along the way. Through the journey we came across trees, signs, overhead wires, as well as uneven road surfaces and sharp inclines.

Due to the tenacity and perseverance of the road team, the Boiler arrived safely in Shanghai in time to be loaded onto the contracted vessel. The Shipping Line made things difficult by deciding last minute that they wouldn’t receive the cargo by trailer but needed delivery to port by feeder instead. These things never go smoothly but Neel rolled his sleeves up and spent 2 days and 2 nights organizing the trans-loading at a local port and a dedicated feeder to take the cargo to the Shipping Line terminal in time to meet the mother vessel.

After all that the Shipping Line cancelled the loading due to bad weather. This was a disaster and logistical puzzle of epic proportions. How to handle a 115 tonne, 14 metre long piece at short notice? No replacement sailing, no place to store it, nowhere to take it. Never one to give up easily, Neel had to move quickly and find somewhere to store the boiler (on the trailer or on the floor) whilst also arranging for alternative sailings via Hong Kong and/or Busan and deciding on the best method of transport to those ports. Extending his stay in Shanghai for another 5 days, Neel was under severe stress at this point as various options and permutations were considered, not to mention being exposed to huge abortive costs.

Within the project shipping industry problems like these arise, and if you want to succeed then a positive “can do” outlook is essential. Neel has this quality in abundance and sacrificed time in the office and most importantly with his family back home to get the job done. So after 15 days in China and severe delays, the break bulk shipment was finally ready to be loaded onto the feeder barge using a floating crane in the local special handling facility. The feeder made its way to the international container terminal in Shanghai and waited overnight to be loaded as break bulk cargo on board the mother vessel the next day. The Chinese Gods remained angry and the weather turned again as Neel arrived on board the container vessel to watch the loading. Despite this and the port closing shortly afterwards, the cargo was loaded successfully using another beast of a floating crane. With a skilled team of stevedores and marine surveyors in attendance the shipment was secured on board and ready to be set on its way to the port of Trieste in Italy.

Recently, Tuscor Lloyds undertook a break bulk Shipment of 2 Subsea Trees (used to monitor and control subsea oil production) for the oil and gas industry, to be shipped to Damietta in Egypt, which has the sixth largest proven oil reserve in Africa, with over half of this as offshore oil. The first piece measured 49.3m x 35.6m x 28.5m and weighed 35 tonnes, the second measured 45.3m x 43m x 27.2m and weighed 32.9 tonnes.

Once at the port the subsea trees where craned into position on the vessel. Due to the dimensions of these pieces it was necessary to arrange for them to be loaded across three flat rack platforms and secured using heavy duty chains and cables. No problems were encountered during loading and securing and the shipment was delivered to Damietta without a hitch.

“Tuscor Lloyds excel in shipping for the Subsea Industry, due to extensive experience in break bulk shipments, we are nearly always able to secure space on container vessels rather than chartering dedicated vessels which will cost the customer more.” says Gary Atkins of Tuscor Lloyds UK.

At the request of a manufacturing company in Spain, Tuscor Lloyds were asked to move Two Reactor Platforms, of which one weighed in at 210 tonne with dimensions of approx. 65 x 4.7 x 4.8m along with 17 other smaller pieces, from Port of Aviles to Veracruz.

The job involved securing the large piece to 2 platform trailers. Then through an abnormal load road transport with Police escort from the engineering company to the port of departure. Once at the Port of Aviles, the piece was craned into position on the deck of the vessel and lashed with chains of 20 MT SWL and wire cables along with various clamps and stoppers welded to the deck. The smaller pieces were stowed between decks. Once again the shipment arrived in Veracruz, Mexico without a hitch and on time.

The job involved securing the piece in 2 steel cradles and fixing it to a platform trailer. Then through an abnormal load road transport with Police escort from the manufacturers to the port of departure in Tarragona where, using two heavy lift cranes, it was moved from its platform to the vessel. It was then stowed with its cradles over wooden dunnage between stacks of containers. Once loaded the piece went through several checks and precautionary measures to prevent any damage to the cargo whilst shipping to its destination, where our client was very pleased to see it arrive safe and sound.