Background
Douglas Maritime has a longstanding relationship with Cockfield Knight, a leading shipping and logistics services provider based at the Port of Middlesbrough – and we have worked with the Cockfield Knight team on numerous projects.
On this occasion, we were tasked to support the company in chartering a vessel to import more than 300 steel pipes into Port of Middlesbrough, for its client Cleveland Steel & Tubes.
The requirement
This was a large and complex import project – and required a high level of expertise to deliver.
The steel pipes, totalling around 2500 tonnes, were required to satisfy a number of orders from various steel stockholders across the UK, so the cargo included a wide range of pipe sizes.
As the pipes were of various diameters and lengths, the stowage of the vessel chosen was particularly complicated.
In order for the cargo to be loaded safely and completely on one vessel, a detailed and well-considered stow plan was required: this would also enable the use of the smallest possible vessel to accommodate the cargo, and eliminate any unnecessary costs for Cockfield Knight’s customer.
Our solution
We researched the market and supported Cockfield Knight in liaising with vessel owners to identify the most suitable vessel for carrying the cargo and helped to negotiate the best freight rates to minimise the overall costs for the customer.
Working closely with Cockfield Knight’s team, we assessed a range of vessel sizes with different sized and shaped holds for the customer. We configured stow plans and reworked these to find the optimum ship for accommodating the cargo.
The results
Through combining our extensive expertise and liaising closely with both the client and the ship owner, the joint Cockfield Knight and Douglas Maritime team found the optimum solution for Cleveland Steel & Tubes, which ensured that all cargo would be accommodated, while costs were minimised.
The most appropriate vessel for the cargo was chartered and the cargo was delivered on time to meet the client’s delivery dates.
Cockfield Knight and Douglas Maritime worked closely with agents, the load port terminal and the discharge port, to ensure the vessel could berth on arrival at both berths and load and discharge the cargo promptly and securely. This saved time and costs for the customer, including the potential cost of demurrage, which would have had to be paid by the customer if the ship had been kept waiting beyond the agreed timescales.
For more information on how we can support you in an import project call +44 (0) 7827 763 668 or email fix@douglasmaritime.com.
