Two IFLN Network member forwarders – Dammam, Saudi Arabia-headquartered Diamond Maritime Services, and Bilbao, Spain-headquartered Orey Shipping – recently collaborated on a heavylift shipment moved door-to-door from Jeddah to Castelon de la Plana.

   The shipment took place between April and May this year, with a total consignment of 80.36 tons being shipped from the Saudi Arabian Red Sea port city of Jeddah to Castelon de la Plana in eastern Spain. The heaviest item of the consignment, which consisted of vehicles, tools and equipment used during the implementation of a railway project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was 26.2 tons.

   Diamond Maritime Services was approached by its client in Saudi Arabia to handle the move and, because it was a door-to-door shipment, it decided to enlist the help of fellow IFLN Network freight forwarder Orey Shipping to handle the Spanish end of the operation.

   Aju Xavier, business development manager for Diamond Maritime Services, recalls that his company hired suitable trailers to pick-up the out-of-gauge cargo from the client’s location and to move it on flat rack containers for ocean shipping out of Jeddah.

   The cargo was picked up at Rabigh in Saudi Arabia before being moved by road the 90 miles to Jeddah port. From there it was taken by sea on board the Messina Line roll-on/roll-off vessel Jolly Palladio to the port of Castelon.

   Diamond Maritime Services arranged all the necessary Customs and port clearance formalities at Jeddah, but two particular challenges had to be overcome, remembers Xavier.

   First, the scarcity of flat rack units had to be overcome, while gaining approval for the movement on the trailers overland to Jeddah required significant effort. A route survey was prepared before permissions from the Saudi Ministry of Transportation could be gained. Notably, the maximum bridge height is only 5.5m in Saudi Arabia.

   "Orey Shipping handled and delivered the cargo to its final destination very smoothly," adds Shihab Shamsudheen, manager – logistics services for Diamond Maritime Services. “We appreciated the support from Orey, they provided us with good service for all the local handling and delivery as scheduled.”

   Furthermore, he says: “Indeed, we have worked with other IFLN partners and I would take this opportunity to convey our thanks to IFLN, which has have professional and strong partners around the globe. We will continue to co-operate with IFLN members.”

 

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