How saying “Stop” saved our client time, money & liability
Shipping heavy cargo is complicated and possibly dangerous
Nordic Maritime solutions works with a number of large corporations as third party surveyors to ensure safety and efficiency from start to finish. At a practical level, this means that we are working 200-ton cargo going from manufacturer by truck or train to being delivered by ship to the project.
This involves a number of complicated steps, often multiple countries with different standards and protocols, and various modes of transport.
All that to say, when shipping things that large with so many different stages, a lot can go wrong. If the third-party surveyor is not present and involved every step of the way, it is easy to miss steps and make mistakes that can cost your company significant amounts of time and money, and possible cause harm to the people involved.
How saying “Stop” saved our client time, money, and liability
Recently, a scenario presented itself where we had to act quickly on behalf of a client and push back on how someone wanted to transfer cargo from one vessel to another.
A large corporation needed to transport a 200-ton transformer from Derince Port in Turkey to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The transformer was critical to the project and the project in Jeddah was on hold till it arrived.
Due to sudden and unforeseen circumstances, the transformer had to be transported from one vessel to a different vessel in order to make it to Jeddah.
This is the kind of circumstance that makes shipping heavy cargo risky. In that moment, the company had no control over whether the stevedores, shipping experts, and vessel captains knew what to do to transfer a 200-ton transformer from one vessel to another.
Fortunately, they had hired Nordic Maritime Solutions to oversee the shipment.
The moment plans changed and an alternative port chosen, NMS was there to help oversee the transfer from one ship to another. During the planning of the cargo transfer, it became obvious that the equipment that was planned to be used was insufficient for transporting the transformer, so, we quickly yelled “Stop!” and put a halt to the transfer until the planning was satisfactory and proper equipment was in place.
The crane the stevedores were planning on using was not strong enough to lift the cargo, an error that could have cost the company time, property, and even lives if we weren’t there. After stopping the transfer, we approved the new equipment and oversaw the cargo transfer safely between vessels.
When the 200-ton transformer arrived at the project site safely and on time, the large corporation was very grateful for the diligence of our surveyors out in the field.
Your eyes, ears, and voice on site
Without a third-party surveyor out in the field with your shipment, mistakes can happen that cost money, time, and possibly human life. If you need eyes and ears on your heavy cargo, we would love to talk with you.
Schedule a call or reply to this email to make sure your next cargo gets to where it needs to go safely and efficiently.