Speedy Spare Part for Beluga Shipping
A consignment for a shipping customer from Vorarlberg (Austria) to the mouth of the Yangtze is nothing strange in itself. But when it is flagged as being “at very short notice” and “extremely urgent” then it is a case for Logwin’s Ship Parts Logistics specialists.
Hamburg, 13th August 2009, 10 a.m.:
Stefanie Räuscher, Export Manager in Logwin’s Hamburg airfreight office, takes the call. On the other end of the line is Katrin Krone from Beluga Shipping GmbH in Bremen. The motor vessel “Beluga Constellation”, a multi-purpose heavy lift cargo ship in the Beluga fleet, desperately needs a new shaft for one of the two heavy duty cranes on board. The challenge lies in the fact that the ship is in Shanghai, while the requisite part is in Nenzing (530 m above sea level) in the Austrian Alps. Furthermore, the “Beluga Constellation” will only be docked in Shanghai for two more days. Consequently, the replace ment part absolutely must arrive within 24 hours.
Feldkirch, 13th August 2009, 10:30 a.m.:
Stefanie Räuscher has the coordination under control.She immediately informs her colleague, Tobias Holderied in the Austrian town of Feldkirch. He arranges the urgent pickup of the consigned express item from the supplier in Nenzing 50 km away. Then Tobias Holderied and his team check whether the part is suitably packaged for the flight and apply airfreight and express labels to the consign ment. At the same time they have already prepared the transport documentation.
Feldkirch, 13th August 2009, 3 p.m.:
The special consignment sets off from Feldkirch headed for Frankfurt Airport. The delivery deadline is 8:05 p.m. – time enough for the 500 km trip under normal circumstances. But then: Traffic jam on the A8 motorway at Stuttgart! Nothing is happening and the schedule is under severe pressure.
The Logwin team in Hamburg is in constant contact with the driver and Lufthansa, who are to fly the replacement part to Shanghai. They do everything possible to ensure that the consignment can still go on board despite the delay.
Frankfurt, 13th August 2009, 9:50 p.m.:
The consignment reaches Frankfurt airport almost 2 hours behind schedule, but the Lufthansa aircraft is still waiting. 12 hours after the initial phone call in Austria, the plane lifts off for Shanghai with the shaft stowed sec ur e ly on board.
Shanghai, 14th August 2009, 3:20 p.m.:
Flight LH 732 lands in Shanghai on time. The customs formalities organised in advance go without a hitch, so the “Beluga Constellation” crew are able to take receipt of the consignment shortly afterwards. “Assignments such as this are routine for our Ship Parts Logistics Team, but are still always something special”, explains Stefanie Räuscher. “Unforeseen circumstances really motivate us!”
Beluga Shipping GmbH
Founded in Bremen in 1995, Beluga Shipping GmbH can now be found in
13 locations worldwide with around 475 staff. As a project and heavy goods specialist, the shipping company currently has 66 multipurpose heavy lift cargo ships with a crane capacity of up to 700 tonnes, but this will increase to 1,400 tonnes by the end of the year. They transport all kinds of XXL freight to every harbour on the planet, including those far from the standard trade routes. The consigned goods include harbour cranes, wind power systems, generators, turbines and luxury yachts, but also entire factories.