deugro Italy has delivered 140 tonnes of time-critical oil and gas cargo from Houston, USA to Mozambique.
Using an AN-124 and a Boeing 747 freighter, the equipment was transported across two shipments.
Due to infrastructure and handling restrictions at Nacala airport in Mozambique, wide-body freighter aircraft are traditionally unable to offload at the facilities, explained deugro. Extensive feasibility studies were required to find a solution that would enable all critical cargo to be flown into Nacala.
According to deugro, using the specialised ramp of an AN-124 from Volga-Dnepr Airlines was the best solution for these challenges.
The AN-124 flight, carrying 100 tonnes of cargo, flew directly to Nacala, while the remaining 40 tonnes were transported in the Boeing 747 to Johannesburg, South Africa.
In Johannesburg, the cargo was repacked and subsequently collected by the AN-124 for delivery to Nacala.
To ensure that all offloading operations ran smoothly in Nacala, deugro partnered with Manica Freight Services, which liaised with the national airport operator Aeroportos de Moçambique.
“Due to the innovative solution, thorough planning and exemplary cooperation among all stakeholders, we were able to reduce the client’s cost expenditure and ensure a safe delivery while minimising door-to-door operational risk for this urgent oil and gas consignment,” said Marco Furgada, branch manager deugro Italy. “As a result, all the cargo was successfully delivered to the client’s yard in Nacala, where immediate commencement of uncrating, inspection and installation was possible.”
