The Friday Flyer

What is bringing a sweet and sour taste to the news this week are significant developments in the heavy lift aviation industry we have taken note of on the runway.

As we write this issue of the Friday Flyer, the Chinese aviation industry is wishing Kung Hei Fat Choi to heavy lift airlines just days before the Chinese New Year by conducting a successful flight of its first domestically developed jumbo air freighter. The Yun-20, or Transport-20, has been developed for long distance air transport of both cargo and passengers, with particular emphasis on disaster relief and humanitarian aid movements.

If that is the sweet, the sour has to be the continuing question: will they/won't they re-start the AN-124-100 Ruslan assembly line? Given that it is over two decades since the end of the Cold War, the absence of newbuilds is costing Antonov millions and market share. The latest chat on the apron is that new build AN-124s will not be seen before 2017 at the earliest, a generation since the hammer and sickle was last lowered over the Kremlin.

The recent cancellation by the Russian military of an order for 20 examples of the aircraft may have been a blow for managers but could free up civilian capacity for the market.

This week's Friday Flyer is sponsored by the Worldwide Project Consortium (WWPC) -www.wwpc.eu.com - and the Cargo Equipment Experts (CEE) -www.cargoequipmentexperts.com - The former is a leading dedicated network for project cargo freight forwarders. The latter is a global network for cargo equipment owners and operators, which specialise in moving and handling heavy and outsized shipments.


Off the drawing board HeavyLift@Sea has presented a prototype draft of a new heavy goods transporter - the HLV1600. Founded last year, HeavyLift@Sea is a Hamburg headquartered maritime engineering specialist with a focus on the heavy goods shipping sector. With this in mind, the HLV1600 is designed to be a multipurpose vessel capable of transporting large size part loads as well as bulk goods.

Meanwhile, project forwarder deugro Denmark A/S, together with partners Conquest Offshore, Amasus Shipping / Abis Shipping, have developed a joint plan for the installation of offshore wind farm components. The use of a standard offshore barge with a 1,500-tonne offshore crane - the Conquest MB1 will stay on location and perform on site installation work.

All at sea

Shipping line BBC Chartering will add the heavy lift vessel BBC Ocean to the CaytransBBC LLC service during February. BBC Ocean is a 6,150 dwt tweendeck, multipurpose vessel with a cargo hold capacity of 9,329 cu m; equipped with two cranes with a combined lifting capacity of 120 tonnes.

Dockwise has now taken delivery of the world's largest semi-submersible heavy lift vessel - Dockwise Vanguard - with the ship making its maiden voyage to to the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) yard in South Korea to pick up the hull of the Jack/St Malo semi-submersible production facility for transportation to the US Gulf of Mexico.

Into the wide blue yonder

UK all-cargo carrier Coyne Airways has launched new services to over 30 destinations across Africa. The African service will use over 30 interline partners to create a comprehensive network across the continent. The new services will make use of Coyne's 575 air waybill, which helps to reduce delays when moving freight on more than a single carrier, claims the airline.

Meanwhile Davies Turner has shipped around one million parts of vintage British fighter aircraft (pictured top right) between the UK and South Africa. The Havilland DH 100 Vampire spare parts was delivered to a South African collector as part of an ambitious project to rebuild two of the post-war British fighter planes.

Davies Turner's Austrian partner, Gebrüder Weiss transported an entire cable car weighing 408 tonnes from sites in Switzerland and the Netherlands - via Frankfurt-Hahn International airport, Germany - to Puebla in Mexico - for Swiss-based cable railway system manufacturer, Bartholet Maschinenbau.

An AN-124 has been utilised by Dimerco Express Group to successfully execute its Charter Cargo Project involving the shipment of 96.1 tonnes of over-dimensional cargo between France and China.
On the forwarding front

US based logistics provider Slade Shipping, a member of the WCA Projects Network (WCAPN), has transported over-dimensional cargoes between the USA and India for a high profile oil and gas client.

Netherlands based member of the Worldwide Project Consortium (WWPC) network, Steder Group, has organised the shipment of approximately 26,000 tonnes of land and sinker lines from China to Doha, Qatar.

Jakarta, Indonesia headquartered Rolitrans International has been commissioned to execute multi-origin worldwide shipments for two brand new cement mills being constructed on the islands of Java and Sulawesi.

V. Alexander International Logistics, has transported five over-dimensional cargoes for an oil and gas client between Germany and Saudi Arabia.

Over 2,500 independent freight forwarders will gather in Bangkok, Thailand from March 3-10 2013 at what the organisers say will be the world's largest logistics networking event - WCA Family Week.

Hatches, matches and dispatches

Hans Toggweiler, global CEO Industrial Projects, and member of the DHL Global Forwarding, Freight Management Board (GFFB), will retire after nearly 15 years of service.

Robert Sambo has joined Kansas, USA headquartered MIQ Logistics as manager of business development for the greater New York City area from BTX Global Logistics.

This month sees logistics provider Damco pack its bags and move its headquarters from Copenhagen, Denmark to The Hague in the Netherlands. To coincide with the move, Damco has made a number of senior level management changes: Steffen Schiottz-Christensen has been named ceo for Damco's Africa and Middle East region taking over from Nils Havsager, who will work in The Hague; Peter Kjaer Jensen will switch from the role of global coo into that of global chief transformational officer, where he will be responsible for all of Damco's IT projects. Global HR chief Karsten Bruem will take over as ceo Asia Pacific from Tony Hotine, and will be based in Singapore. Marco Mingoa has taken over Bruem's position and will operate from The Hague.

March will see SAL Heavy Lift relocate its head office from Steinkirchen to Hamburg, in a move to facilitate communication with its international customers.

Alan Long is to take the reins as chairman of the European Port Community Association (EPCSA) from Pascal Ollivier. In his day job, Long is managing director of Felixstowe based Maritime Cargo Processing. Piet-Jan ten Thije, strategy and business director of Rotterdam headquartered Portbase, is now vice chairman of the trade association.

Mika Vehviläinen has taken flight from being president and ceo of Finnish airline Finnair to join Cargotec as its new president and ceo, effective March 1, 2013. Taipo Hakakari, currently Cargotec's board vice chairman, will continue as interim president and ceo until then.

Emirates SkyCargo, the air freight division of Dubai based Emirates Airline, has appointed Moaza Al Falahi as vice president cargo business and product development.

All about Evie

Ms Evie Aufheben, our sassy gossip columnist, raised one of her exquisitely plucked eyebrows over the news that from this summer, Hans Toggweiler will no longer be global ceo DHL Industrial Projects as he takes, what is described in the official announcement, as a well-deserved retirement. She doesn't recall retirement being discussed when she last bumped into Mr T, just a short time ago, and is now left wondering which of the gentleman's deputies might be looking to step up to the plate as the eventual replacement.

In her globe-trotting existence visiting heavy lift and project cargo operations worldwide, Ms Aufheben has heard what she thought was an urban myth: in the USA it is said that UPS vehicles never turn left and only provide pick-ups and drop offs on the right hand side of the road. A senior UPS honcho reveals this is not a myth but a reality.

UPS has revealed that by avoiding the need to cross the opposite lanes whilst turning shaves around 20.4 million miles off the routes per year while delivering about 350,000 more packages. It also diminished CO2 emissions by 20,000 tonnes. Evie is pleased that this rule does not exist in her home town of London, where UPS do not turn right.

Ms Aufheben is going to put on the glad-rags for an evening of conversation, discourse, sophistication, wit and intellectual stimulation at the downstairs bar of The Tokenhouse, 4, Moorgate, City of London EC2R 6DA from 18:00 hours on Friday 22nd February at the first gathering this year of the Southern Heavy International Transport Society (London Branch) for 2013. You can get more information from Andy Miller on +44 (0)1372 866157 or andy.miller@kbr.com

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Issue 30 is now in the hands of the good folk who work at Royal Mail International. Issue 31 will include country reports on Brazil, Russia, the USA and the Gulf States; plus a review of logistics within the mining industry; a focus on heavyweight road haulage; an operational review of escort and permitting issues; an equipment focus on jacks, skates and rollers; plus our regular articles on law, insurance and safety; and letters from our regional correspondents. It will also include our first report on the logistics activities behind the movement of yachts, cruiseboats and other floating craft. To submit editorial contributions, or book advertising, contact Ian Matheson on +44 (0) 1689 857631 or ian@heavyliftpfi.com for more information.