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Unishipping International Sees Great Success in Recent Multi-Modal Project Movements
Added: (Sun Sep 18 2005)
“Unishipping Proving Bulgaria to be Excellent Transshipment Partner at a Strategic Geographical Point”
Varna, Bulgaria – Unishipping International Ltd., the Bulgaria based GPLN member has been proving their mettle as a Southeastern Europe transshipment partner with increasingly varied project cargoes with over 50% of its activities concentrated on project shipments.
As a transshipment point, Bulgaria is growing as an option. The Port of Varna, Bulgaria’s main surface gateway to the world, operates 65 electric cranes and about 400 pieces of various ship, landside and warehouse port facilities. It also boasts an open-air storage area of 454,000 m2 and warehouses have 76,000 m2 of warehouse space. It has a well-forked railway and road network. The existing port facilities allow the handling of practically all kinds of solid bulk, break-bulk, containerized and some liquid-bulk cargoes. The existing depths of the ship berths and the approaches to them allow the handling of vessels of capacity up to 50,000 tons. Unishipping International offers Varna based full service stevedoring, loading, discharging, forwarding, storage and various intermodal services.
Since 1990, the bulk of Bulgarian trade has shifted from former COMECON countries primarily to the European Union, although Russian oil exports to Bulgaria make it Bulgaria's largest single trading partner, Germany currently is Bulgaria’s largest investor. With this changing economy Unishipping International asserts that it has continued to develop the multi-modal shipping skills and resources to carry on this trade. “Unishipping is experienced with a vast range of industrial project works - from infrastructure projects to major energy projects” proudly states Unishipping’s Denitsa Brankovanova, “In the past 12 years, we have handled a lot of turn-key projects and heavy liftings in Bulgaria and we have gained a very good reputation on the market!”
Bulgarians argue that their country is perfectly placed for transshipment as it is located in the southeastern corner of Europe between the Black Sea and the Danube, as a crossing point of main east-west traffic to Asia and north-south traffic to the Mediterranean. The country’s strategic location means that it has always played an important role in international trade; it is in an ideal position for feedering and transshipment services. Its specialized transshipment department provides comprehensive chartering and feedering services and undertakes the receipt, handling and dispatch of all cargo in transit to any destination. As such Unishipping reports that the variety and complexity of the larger project movements are rapidly increasing in scope. “From the beginning of this year,” says Denitsa Brankovanova “Unishipping International Ltd has implemented more than ten major project movements.” Some examples of what Unishipping has been up to are:
Caspian Sea Pipeline Project:
A cargo of three pieces (stinger and service module for Caspian pipe lay barge) was successfully moved from Varna Port up to Port Galati, Romania’s main breakbulk port on the Black Sea. This was a total weight of 135,000 tons. The dimensions for the service module were 15.86x7.18x9.30 m, which weighed 83 tons, for the frame the dimensions were 7.00x8.50x7.50 m at a weight of 33 tons, and the floating stinger was 7.50 x 12.50 x 2.70 m, weighing 19 tons. This movement was executed with an experienced Italian partner, Livorno based Levitrans Srl, and was moved onboard m/v Anna T.
Triangle Walkway Bridge:
Working again with Levitrans, Unishipping successfully shipped steel sections of a triangle walkway bridge from Varna Port up to Savona, Italy about 100 km from France. The shipment contained 13 large pieces and one pallet with a total weight of 578,068 tons. The largest piece was 14.92x2.84x3.20 and weighed 55.54 tons. This sea carriage as on board m/v Venedikt Andreev.
Start Up Heater:
Unishipping completed the multi-modal of a start up heater, dimensions 23.,12x5.30x4.79 m and a total weight of 50,00 tons from Germany to central Bulgaria. The consignment traveled overland from Heiningen, Germany, to Plochingen on the Neckar river east of Stuttgart. From Plochingen the consignment traveled by river barge up the Neckar river and rounded on to the Rhein river about 200 km downstream at Mannheim where it then continued up to Regensburg for transshipment. From Regensburg the shipment traveled down the Rhein to the Main river then on to the Danube via Rhein-Main Canal, also known as Europa Canal. The cargo then journeyed eastward all the way up the Danube until it reached Lom, the second largest Danube port in Bulgaria. The cargo was then lifted off the vessel by mobile cranes and forwarded by truck to Pirdop in the geographical center of Bulgaria. This movement was undertaken with LS International Cargo GmbH, a German international logistics firm specializing in project cargo.
Forging Press to Houston:
Working together with Saving Shipping & Forwarding Srl of Fino Mornasco, Como, Italy, the projects arm of the Saving Group, Unishipping undertook to ship by river transportation of a used dissembled forging press with total weight of 184,900 mts. This went westward up the Danube from Rousse Port, Bulgaria’s largest river port, via Krems Port in Niederösterreich, Austria, and continued up the Danube over the Rhein-Main Canal on to Antwerp where it then transited to Houston.
Forging Machine to Mumbai:
This multi-modal transit by truck and barge of a total of 144,690 tons used forging machine, type LKH 1200, consisted of an 85 ton main body with dimensions 5.80x3.30x2.90 m and 3x20' SDV. It also contained dismantled and spare parts from Vedrare and Karlovo in Bulgaria. The shipment traveled by barge eastward from Rousse Port to the Black Sea then northward to Agigea terminal at Constanþa Port in Romania, where it as then transshipped by ocean to Mumbai, India. This movement was executed with the Indian firm Panalpur Engineering & Fabricants Ltd.
According to George Belev, the managing director of Unishipping International, these are but only a few examples of Unishipping’s abilities. “Unishipping International shows excellent expertise and has all the right local connections,” assures Belev. He also adds that Unishipping’s comprehensive services reflect the dynamic market and provide commercial benefits both to operators and principals.
Unishipping International Ltd, currently the only Global Project Logistics Network (GPLN) member in the Balkan region of Europe, is a privately owned, specialized transportation company, established in 1993 with head office in Varna and Bulgarian branch offices in Sofia, Stara Zagora and in Bourgas. The Global Projects Logistics Network is a non-exclusive professional projects logistics group for independent companies specializing in international projects shipping by air, sea and land as well as specialized lifts and handling of oversized, out-of-gauge and heavy lift cargo.