Terex charter vessel to ship machines to Australia

Thirty Powerscreen, Finlay and Terex Ecotec machines currently in transit from Port of Southampton to Brisbane

TEREX, in co-operation with DHL Global Forwarding’s Industrial Projects division, have successfully chartered a vessel to convey a consignment of 30 Powerscreen, Finlay and Terex Ecotec machines from Southampton to Brisbane. In what has been a huge, first-of-its-kind practice for Terex, the charter was arranged to ensure customers get their machines in these current times of logistical and supply chain delays.

Claire Hamilton, category director - metal fabrications and logistics at Terex Supply Management and Transport, said: ‘Towards the end of last year, our RORO (roll-on/roll-off) capacity to Australia was suspended due to port congestion, backlog due to Covid, and increased global demand. Vessels were overbooked and the backlog was not reducing. Whilst we were provided with an allocation of slots, this did not meet the demand for our products.

‘We decided to research alternative options for getting our equipment to our Australian customers, which was a huge undertaking. Our machines vary in size and weight and not only is lifting them on and off vessels difficult, the safety of doing so is always our top priority. After exploring various options, we found a solution that enabled our machines to be tracked and secured on to a platform, which would be lifted by cranes and lowered into the hull of the ship.’

Prior to loading, the Terex Sourcing and Supply team worked with various stakeholders – including safety, engineering, logistics, and operations teams within Terex, as well as external transport and shipping providers – with biweekly meetings to plan every detail. Specific engineering information was provided for each machine, and dates agreed among all parties for getting machines to port. In total, 30 Terex machines weighing 1,092 tonnes were delivered to the Port of Southampton.

At the port, support was provided to transfer the machines from storage to dockside, with Terex service engineers checking machines prior to loading and supporting stevedores at the dockside and on the vessel.

Loading on to the vessel was performed by tandem lift operation of the ship’s cranes and lifting platform. Embarkation and disembarkation to and from the platform was undertaken using ramps on the quayside and in the ship’s hold. In total, it took eight days for all 30 machines to be safely loaded on to the vessel.

Ms Hamilton added: ‘From the planning stages right through to the enormous operation of loading our equipment on to the vessel, all stakeholders worked proactively to ensure that our 30 machines were loaded safely with no incidents or accidents. Constant collaboration between internal and external parties, working as a team, was a key contributor to success.’

The machines are currently on route and expected to arrive in Australia in early March.