MUMBAI: With a tight deadline to transport close to 300 critical construction units for an infrastructure project in Gabon, Om Freight Forwarders chose Höegh Autoliners for their customer-minded approach and fast, reliable RoRo service, highlighted a Höegh release.

Short transit time

With the critical equipment needing to reach Gabon within 30 days to meet the project deadline, the Höegh Autoliners team in India were quick to respond to the customers’ request.

Capt. Atuldutt Sharma, of Höegh Autoliners India says, “Understanding the urgency of the request, we presented a direct sailing between Mumbai and Libreville on our Middle East to India and Africa service. This offered a short transit time of 25 days and meant the customer would meet their project deadline”.

Safe operation for complex shipment

The shipment involved a complex mix of 277 structures, modules and equipment which were of various dimensions and shapes.

Höegh’s cargo handing experts have extensive experience in finding the right handling equipment to transport a large range of diverse break-bulk cargo.

The team presented a lashing and stowage plan to the customer to highlight the critical units’ safe transportation.

Capt. Atuldutt adds: “Our fleet of roll trailers offer different lengths, heights and weights; the cargo handling team of experts found the perfect match for the numerous sized units. Transporting the units on our roll trailers offer a safer and more cost-effective solution as the cargo is rolled on and off the vessel. This means no high lifting in both the load and discharge ports.”

Transported on 24 roll trailers, the critical cargo was safely lashed and secured underdeck in Höegh Beijing’s ventilated cargo hold. This ensured the sensitive units were kept safe and dry throughout the voyage.

Customer feedback

Om Freight Forwarders’ General Manager for Projects, Mr Vishal Joshi, said, “With no liner or regular break-bulk carriers offering a direct service to Gabon, we were pleased that Höegh Autoliners could accommodate our request so quickly. They delivered a safe, cost-effective and quick solution and ensured we met the short project deadline”.