CASE STUDY:

As any overseas shipping company worth its salt, we too love a good challenge. One big one came our way in March 2007. A large film company in Hollywood North (Vancouver, BC) commissioned us to import a large 1960 T55A Russian tank from the United Kingdom   that was required for filming purposes in Vancouver, BC. The tank's weight, weighing nearly 81,000 pounds put it far in excess of regular container traffic capacities. Thus, 20' or 40' containers could not accommodate the tank, nor were we able to dismantle the tank or even use a flat rack container where the width and height can be exceeded to a certain degree. The project as such was thus outside our regular shipping pattern to or from the UK. (We regularly export and import 20' and 40' containers of used personal effects and household goods to and from the UK ).

Both our President as well as our Marketing Manager however had many years of experience in bulk freight forwarding also from previous employment experiences (a total of over 50 years of freight forwarding experience!), even though our company was just completing its 10th anniversary in July 2007.

We started to investigate means for shipping this self-propelled tank to the Canadian West Coast. With the research assistance of our English correspondents and counterparts, we first determined the dimensions of the tank. It measured 21' long x 11' wide x 8' high and was clearly outside container dimensions that can only accommodate a maximum width of 7' 8" and a maximum height of 7' 2". Nor can a 40' container exceed a loading capacity of 57,200 lb.

Knowing the dimensions and weight restrictions for regular container vessels that are the norm these days in transatlantic traffic (since about 1965), we searched for a bulk freighter that could carry the tank from Liverpool, England to Vancouver, BC. Needless to say, our search was fruitless - no such vessel could be found, nor, as we know, does Ro-Ro (roll on roll of) vessel service exist between the UK and Vancouver , BC .

Meanwhile we were investigating the customs and immigration paperwork that was required both in the UK on export and in Vancouver, BC on arrival - a story in itself that included obtaining certificates that the tank was required only for filming purposes. This involved registering with the Controlled Goods Directorate of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in the United Kingdom as well as the equivalent Ministry in Canada. This also implicated verifications that all armaments on the tank had been disabled. Having the documentary process under control, we could now investigate a possible shipping route and method.

While it might have been possible to ship via the Port of Tacoma, WA, USA and then overland, for a variety of reasons including U.S. stringent customs requirement applicable since 9/11, it was decided to favour a route not involving any transit via the United States. After researching all options, a process that took several weeks, we finally found the one and only possible routing not involving transhipment in the USA.

A large bulk carrier, very experienced in oversized shipments, asked us if we could reduce the weight by dismantling the tank at least partially. We told them that it was impossible, but that the tank was mobile, i.e., could be driven under its own power onto a Ro-Ro vessel. Delivery to a Ro-Ro vessel in turn had to be accomplished by finding a special low-bed truck.

Unfortunately, it turned out that no freighter or bulk carrier could be found to transport the tank from the UK to Vancouver, BC. Yet after further research and investigations we found that we could move the tank from the UK to the Port of Vlissingen in the Netherlands and thence to Vancouver. However, this too proved impossible to realize and we finally opted for a sailing from the UK to Halifax, NS rather than directly to Vancouver, BC, which preference proved unattainable. However, now the good news was that we also avoided transhipment in the Netherlands, which might also have complicated customs procedures. Again, it would have been possible to ship to the Port of Tacoma, WA on the U.S. West Coast, however, due to customs clearance considerations, we preferred Halifax, NS .

As an aside, although the vessel operator chosen was familiar with shipping military equipment including tanks, in this the hitch was that on military shipments the military personnel themselves drive the tanks and all their equipment on and off the vessel, while in this particular case, the port personnel had to load and offload the tank, which included having to drive the tank under its own power. Thus, we had to provide a driver's manual for driving the tank and supply this to the various on- and offloading agencies. In this we enjoyed great help from the staff of the military museum in the UK, who not only provided us with drawings but even offered telephone assistance to the ship's crew in order to accomplish driving the tank on and off the vessel.

We now needed to find suitable transport from dock Halifax to terminal Vancouver, BC. Investigating possible low bed road transport across Canada as an alternative to expensive rail service, we found that though we could commission a suitable truck for the job, it turned out that our Canadian highways are closed for heavy equipment due to the thawing in spring time and roads open only in mid to end of June especially across the prairies. So, we were left with no alternative but rail to bring the tank to Vancouver, BC from Halifax, utilizing a special railcar, which also included heavy lift arrangements, i.e., specialized cranes at both ends of the rail line and special lashing. This move and the preloading and subsequent delivery all needed a lot of detailed coordination that we handled by constantly keeping on top of the tanks logistical progress and constantly coordinating with the various agencies involved and passing on proper and complicated driving instructions for the tank to the various handlers (origin to port, shore to ship, ship to shore, terminal to rail, rail to road etc.).

Oh yes, we of course had to have the tank cleaned - it was at first delivered to our UK terminal unclean - at origin prior to shipping so as to also satisfy the importation requirements of Agriculture Canada, not just Canada Customs, partially because of concern over Mad Cow disease in the UK. While this led to missing a sailing, we still were able to ship and deliver the tank within the necessary time frame required for filming to commence in Vancouver, BC, on time once we had overcome a last minute hitch because of a bonding requirement so that we could customs clear in Vancouver, BC rather than in either Halifax or Montreal, which was optimal.

The logistics and coordination necessary in this type of move are indeed complicated, intricate and requiring constant monitoring. Compared to this move, our regular overseas shipments of used personal effects and household goods are a lot easier to orchestrate, but here too vigilance and constant attention is needed to meet all the requirements and pitfalls of overseas shipping over various foreign territories and countries and the high seas whose rules and regulations must be realized and obeyed, something that most local or long distance moving companies are unschooled to handle.

So, what's left to do? We, of course, want to watch the movie in which this tank is featured!