Continuously aligning with the transport equipment availability is one of major components of a transport requiring multiple transhipments. Such was a recent delivery handled by Ahlers Projects and Machinery division requiring transport of two lots from Laem Chabang, Thailand up to an inland USA location in Ohio. 

Without disclosing the name of the steel-products supplier, Ahlers noted that the cargo deliveries consisted of two overhead crane installations and were part of the company’s Capex plan to expand its production plant in Ohio.

A task with multiple transshipments

According to the company’s statement, key challenge when shipping time-sensitive project cargo on a route that requires multiple transshipments is to align continuously per the availability of the different transport equipment.

“Close follow-up and coordination are key to mitigate any impact on lead times during the transshipment process and ensure swift sequential transportation to the destination. When presented with such a challenge, it is essential to have our local project coordinators present at all transshipment locations ensuring swift and safe reloading operations,” the statement reads.

Cargo on the move

Each lot consisted of approximately 500 tons and 1800 cubic meters of various cargo including quite 28-meter-long crane bridge units and 85-tonne trolley parts.

“Our assignment was to move the cranes from the manufacturing plant in Thailand to the installation site in Ohio, USA,” the statement reads.

The equipment pieces were oversized and overweight, requiring special loading/unloading procedures; and a multimodal transport solution comprising ocean, barge, and road transportation. The equipment was essential to the plant operations and needed to arrive on schedule.

Close cooperation is key

The Ahlers Chartering desk assisted with the contracting of appropriate heavy lift vessels from Thailand up to New Orleans port, finding the most suitable vessels on the markets.

With the assistance of their US partners, Ahlers arranged the loading of cargoes from ocean vessels onto river barges at New Orleans port for further transport via Mississippi and Ohio river network up to a second transshipment place at a river port in Kentucky. Thereafter, the cargo was further reloaded onto specialised trailers for the last leg of transport by road up to the final site in Delta, Ohio.

“Despite detailed preparation, potential events can always disrupt the initial transport planning. In this specific case, our transport planning was disrupted due to a temporary engine breakdown of one of the ocean vessels but also hurricane Zeta passing through New Orleans right on the dates when the ocean vessel was discharging, which required us to temporarily suspend transshipment operations and rework the consecutive transportation plan,” the statement reads.