LaycanDeskProject and heavy-lift cargo freight
Transformers, steel structures and out-of-gauge units on MPP, heavy-lift ships and deck barges, fixed on the piece list. Freight for project cargo and heavy lifts: transformers, steel structures, modules, anchor chain and out-of-gauge units, from 100 to 700 tonne single pieces to 30,000 cubic metre project lots, on MPP and heavy-lift ships with lashing and securing plans, and on deck barges with tugs for coastal moves.
Project cargo is fixed on the piece list, not the tonnage. The heaviest single unit and its dimensions decide whether the ship's cranes can take it, whether the tank top or the hatch cover can carry it, and where in the ship it stows; MPP ships lift 60 to 250 tonnes with combined cranes and heavy-lift ships 400 to 900 tonnes. A 30,000 cubic metre lot of steel structures and equipment fills a ship on volume long before it fills her on weight, so the cubic and the stowage factor are asked with the weights. Every unit above a few tonnes gets a lashing and securing plan drawn against the ship's motions on the voyage, approved before loading and often by a marine warranty surveyor for insured project moves. Transformers travel on cradles with shock recorders; steel structures in frames; anchor chain in flaked coils on the tank top. Coastal and shallow-water moves of modules and plant go on flat-top deck barges with tugs.
The desk's recent project enquiries have been a 30,000 cubic metre steel lot out of Penglai and anchor chain and mooring gear ex China, both worked from drawings and a piece list before any owner was asked. Send us the piece list with weights and dimensions, drawings of the heaviest units, the total weight and cubic, load and discharge ports with their crane and berth limits, the terms you want, laycan and the charterer. It goes to owners of MPP and heavy-lift tonnage and to barge operators opening in the load area, and back to you with named ships and a stowage sketch. Every counterparty is screened before an owner sees the enquiry, and owners of project tonnage hear from us only when a lot fits their cranes and holds.
How it ships
- Piece list with weights and dimensions first
- MPP cranes 60–250 t combined; heavy-lift 400–900 t
- Lashing and securing plan per unit
- Cradles, frames and shock recorders for sensitive units
- Deck barges and tugs for coastal modules
Load areas
- China (Penglai, Qingdao, Shanghai, Tianjin)
- Korea and Vietnam
- Türkiye and the East Med
- Europe (Antwerp, Rotterdam) and the Gulf
What owners ask for
- Heaviest piece with dimensions and lifting points
- Total weight and cubic; can pieces be split
- FLT or FIO terms
- Berth and crane limits at both ends
- Marine warranty survey requirements
Ships that carry it
The cargo itself, on Commbril
Questions charterers and owners ask
What decides which ship can take a heavy piece?
Three things: the crane capacity, single or combined, against the piece weight with its lifting gear; the tank-top or hatch-cover strength against the footprint; and the hatch opening against the dimensions. The piece list and a drawing of the heaviest unit answer all three in one exchange.
Who prepares the lashing and securing plan?
The owner's or operator's technical department, from the piece list and the expected motions on the voyage, and for insured project moves a marine warranty surveyor approves it before loading. Charterers can send their own plan, but the owner must accept it.
When is a deck barge the right answer instead of a ship?
For modules and plant that are rolled or lifted onto an open deck for a coastal move in the Gulf, the Red Sea or Southeast Asia, for pieces too large for any hatch, and for landings where there is no berth. Tell us the footprint and weight and we check both routes.
Do you fix project cargo as part of an MPP sailing?
Yes. Operators with scheduled MPP sailings from China to Southeast Asia, the Gulf and Africa sell space per tonne or freight ton, and a project lot of a few hundred to a few thousand cubic metres often fits one. We quote whichever of sailing or full charter suits the lot.