Moving two 40-metrelong, 70-ton vessels overland from Beira to Monkey Bay on Lake Malawi was never going to be easy – but Cyclone Idai made it nearly impossible. Specialised multi-axle trailers were used to transport the 40-metre-long 70-ton hulls from Beira to Monkey Bay, Malawi Via Milange Border in Zambezia Province. These were the only such trailers available in Mozambique and were operated by Maputo Based GTE. As part of the scope of work, a significan amount of road work was also required in order to move the two heavy lift units on the desired route. This included route upgrades, bridge propping and obstacle clearances. Without these upgrades the loads would never be able to move on the designated route according to Kanishk Jaiswal, project logistics manager of the J&J Africa group. Cyclone Idai put paid to the initial plan. With the route out of Beira completely destroyed, it seemed that there was no way forward. According to Jaiswal, a tight deadline by the client meant that the cargo could not simply be stored until the roads were repaired, “This required us to go back to the drawing board and identify a new out-of-the-box solution in order to deliver the loads in the required time. “It turned out the only way forward was to move backwards, and it was therefore decided to move the heavy lift units back into the port and then by barge from the port of Beira to the port of Quelimane. From there they were to continue the journey onto Malawi by road. A suitable barge was identified in Mombasa, and brought down to Beira to carry out a job that had never been done before. The fully loaded units, complete with truck and trailer, were driven onto the barge, which was then tugged from Beira to Quelimane where they were then driven off to continue the journey by road. “Although this may sound easy, it came with its own set of challenges. Tidal shifts at both ports gave us very small windows for driving on and off the barges and this had to be done with great care and thorough precision,” he says. The entire operation was coordinated by Mozambique Vessel Agency (MVA) and BLT Projects, which are both part of the J&J Group. In the process they pioneered a whole new way of moving heavy lift and project cargo through the port of Beira into other parts of Mozambique and the hinterland. “Once the cargo started moving the use of barges not only shortened the overall transit time to Malawi, but ended up being more cost effective for the customer as we were able to bypass the various road upgrades required to move the units on the initial route,” says Jaiswal. “The fact that the whole operation was handled by Mozambican companies goes to show that the Mozambique and the Beira corridor have come a long way. “Not only are we prepared to take on bigger challenges but we have the expertise and knowhow to execute them. “It proved to be an excellent dress rehearsal to cater for upcoming LNG projects in the north, and should really strengthen the case for the various stakeholders to use local expertise rather than foreign logistics service providers, he adds. “Along with the other players in Mozambique we have also geared up to service the LNG projects in the north.”
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