Cranes, planes and the Olympics Games: Allseas take a look back at 2012

01 January 2013

Allseas take a look back at 2012

January

Breakbulk shipment of crane assembly – UK to Singapore
A booking from Great Yarmouth, less than an hour’s drive up the A12 from Felixstowe, to Singapore shouldn’t cause too many issues – that is, until the customer informs you that one piece is nearly seven metres wide!
With multiple pieces and some seriously out-of-gauge dimensions to consider, notably a 14.2m length, 6.8m width and a maximum height of 4.6m, this cargo was only ever going to leave the manufacturers by the nearest seaport.
Allseas sourced a 500 tonne mobile crane and a coaster to call at Great Yarmouth to load before sailing down the coast for transshipment to the Maersk Evora at the Port of Felixstowe. The shipment was moved from Great Yarmouth to its new home in Singapore in just 32 days.

February

Turbo generation machinery – UK to India
When the call came from one of Allseas largest customers to put forward a proposal to move an urgent shipment to Mumbai, India, little did we know that it would ultimately consist of arranging a specific vessel call to move 13 40-foot high-cube containers and 3,700 cubic metres of cased cargo.

Allseas were able to negotiate with the Port of Felixstowe to use the old Landguard Container Terminal to receive the 75 truckloads of cargo from Lincoln, Swinderby and Newark, all of which were received over 5 working days and positioned for the geared vessel call.

March

Liverpool depot opens
The first quarter of 2012 saw Allseas open their 3rd UK depot: A 4-acre site on the Knowsley industrial estate in Liverpool, in addition to sites in Swinderby and Rainham, Essex.

The depot offers a full range of services, including container storage and repairs, conversions, load, lash and secure in addition to refrigeration services. Ideally situated close to the Port of Liverpool and with excellent rail links nearby, this depot also offers a full range of equipment ranging from standard containers through to open tops, flat racks and reefers for both sale and hire.

April

Multimodal
The NEC Birmingham was the venue for Allseas’ first exhibition of 2012, in conjunction with our sister company International Export Packers. Putting together the stand from scratch the day before the event certainly was an experience; it worth the effort though, as we saw a steady stream of customers, potential customers and friends over a period of 3 very busy days – we look forward to the same at this year’s exhibition.

May

Global Project Logistics Network
May saw Mark Binge, Allseas’ Commercial Manager, attending our first global conference for GPLN in Singapore, having joined the network earlier in 2012.

The Global Project Logistics Network is the premier logistics network of independent companies specialising in international project movements by air, sea and land, as well as specialised lifts and the special handling of oversized and out-of-gauge cargo.

June

Ocean World Lines
5 new members of staff, all joining in the same week, could have been problematic at best! However, taking over the UK agency representation for Ocean World Lines, 12 months ago, has been nothing but positive news for both the Allseas and OWL brands.

Ocean World Lines is among the largest bonded NVOCCs in the world and has more than 60 service contracts with the top ocean carriers. For more than 30 years, OWL has worked with importers, exporters and freight forwarders to provide door-to-door/end-to-end service across the globe.
Allseas is proud to represent the business interests of OWL in the UK and looks forward to this continuing for many years to come.

July

First year of trading in Dubai
Located on the edge of the Jebel Ali Freezone, Allseas’ first year of trading in Dubai sees them with a multi-cultural team of four, soon to be five.

Paula Bellamy, an expat with some 25 years’ experience in the industry, initially opened the Dubai office on her own, before employing Om Prakash as her first employee and Operations Manager.
With a team that offers the full range of freight forwarding skills, including the movement of out-of-gauge/projects, airfreight and road transport, along with the supply and conversion of all types of containers. Allseas Dubai office really can assist you with your every need in Dubai and throughout the Middle East.

August

Scotland to Saudi Arabia

Allseas Global Logistics was contracted to move five overhead cranes – three with lengths of 35 metres, two at 27 metres, all mounted on specialised trailers – from East Kilbride, Scotland, to Saudi Arabia.
The shipment consisted of ten girder sections, five large cases containing the trolley sections, a control cabin and 25 open-top containers – adding up to a total of 2,100 cubic metres and overall weight exceeding 700 tonnes.
Allseas part-chartered a geared vessel, which called directly in Glasgow to load the cranes for the voyage to Jubail. Special permission had to be obtained from the Saudi government to make the final leg of the journey by road, for delivery of the cranes to their ultimate destination.

September

London 2012 to the World Parachuting Championships
Allseas were proud to be providing the logistics for a leading events company that dismantled and then shipped exhibition tents, stages, seating – in effect the “exhibition halls” – from the Olympic site back to Dubai for the World Parachuting Championships.

This project was on-going throughout the last quarter of 2012, with Allseas dealing with volumes of up to 15 containers per week during this period.

October

Additional special equipment investment
Due to the continued demand on Allseas equipment, we have recently purchased another 30 40-foot flat rack units, increasing our numbers to an impressive 152.

With equipment currently in various destinations across the world including the Far & Middle East, India, North & South America, as well as various locations throughout Europe, our investment in equipment will continue throughout 2013.
In addition to the flat racks, Allseas have a full range of open tops and standard sized 20-foot and 40-foot containers, all CSC plated and available for hire or shipment worldwide.

November

Allseas’ sister company takes to the air!
PA Freight has now achieved status as a “Regulated Agent” with the Department for Transport. To achieve this standard PA Freight have met the stringent security standards set by both the DFT and the EC, which involves a considerable investment in both additional security systems and specialist training of staff directly involved within the aviation sector of its business. This provides the clients of PA Freight with not only the assurance of dealing with a company that has achieved this recognised standard, but also reduces delays for export air freight and access to better rates offered for secure air cargo.

December

New starters throughout 2012
No company is anything without staff, its most valuable asset. 2012 has seen the arrival of a number of quay staff at various locations throughout our business. These include: Claudia at Brighouse, Will and Colin at Tilbury, Grant at Newark, Lynsey and Flaven in Dubai with Sami and Carmen joining Allseas in Felixstowe.

Author: Mark Binge, Group Commercial Manager

Also published on: Intrade Magazine