Shipping very large items isn’t without its challenges and yes, there are risks involved. When shipping cargo that is too large for containers, it’s essential to engage experts in oversized and heavy-lift shipping.
If you’re moving operations across country – or even across continents – using freight forwarders specializing in shipping large loads will significantly mitigate the risks involved with moving large pieces of freight.
So, what are the risks when shipping oversized equipment?
There are various risks moving big pieces of freight. Some relate to the cargo itself – loss or damage to the cargo or loss or damage caused by the cargo.
How heavy equipment is prepared for shipping is an essential consideration. Door to door shipping of industrial plant, for example, involves a series of individual functions. Depending on the nature of the oversized cargo, it may require electrical decommissioning, pneumatic decommissioning or mechanical decommissioning. There is often a need for some dismantling of heavy machinery for transportation. Then there is the question of how to pack very large freight to protect it from numerous potential causes of damage during transit and this can occur at every stage of transportation – lifting, shifting, trucking, storing, loading, lashing, unlashing, discharging, transporting, craning and stowage.
Each stage of transportation has its own set of challenges, restrictions and limitations which need to be considered when preparing over-dimensional cargo for shipment. Identifying the best configuration for shipping any heavy equipment requires an in-depth understanding of the cargo and every step of the route, from door to door, including the local regulations and restrictions at each waypoint, the capabilities of the shipping ports and the capacity of equipment at origin and destination, so it is essential that planning and cargo preparation address the conditions throughout the entire route.
In addition to the cargo-related risks, every step of the door-to-door transportation process presents another risk – budget blow-out – and this is where most cargo-owners get hit, usually by surprise and often in a very big way. On-time, on-budget performance requires thorough planning and preparation and precision execution, both of which require specific expertise, experience and resources. Potential additional costs shipping heavy equipment are clearly understood by project shipping experts and most can be averted. Using a freight forwarder less experienced in transporting heavy freight, however, can ultimately cost a whole lot more than investing a small premium in engaging a specialist heavy-lift forwarder in the first place.
Pre-shipment services must be carried out with perfect timing to avoid vessel delays, which can cost the shipper upwards of USD 20,000 a day, in additional charges.
Making that all-important decision on how best to transport heavy equipment or over-sized loads can be a difficult and at times circumstantial one. Whether you’re mobilizing or demobilizing a mining plant, relocating a factory production line, repositioning a tower crane or moving any extraordinarily large shipment, Freightplus has the knowledge, experience and resources to ensure everything is transported smoothly and efficiently. Where the untrained eye might see an asset that’s too big or heavy to ship, or a destination that’s impossible to reach, we see an opportunity. More importantly, we know the risks, challenges and obstacles and what is required to overcome them because this is what we do, every day.
Moving long cargo, tall cargo, wide cargo, heavy cargo; shipping any out-of-gauge cargo requiring special handling, Freightplus understands exactly what is required.