Challenges faced:

To keep the business and petrochemical operations of Petronas Carigali Malaysia moving, 185 gigantic gas pipes had to be delivered urgently from Oslo to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The fact that the cargo was oversized was a challenge in itself when it came to loading into and unloading from the aircraft. The longest pipe measured 38 feet long. Furthermore, the uploading of the pipes had to be accomplished within 14 hours to reduce the extra charges incurred for the cost of airport charges. With the temperature at only 5 degrees Celsius and continuous rain, the weather didn't help with the delivery either.

How MASkargo faced the challenges:

As the pipes had to be uploaded through the nose of the plane, a special flight was arranged using the B747-400F. The aircraft arrived from Frankfurt at 1940 hours. 8 x 20 foot pallets, 8 PMCs, 4 x 20 foot pallet connectors and more than 500 pieces of brown lines were offloaded from the aircraft and sent to the warehouse for cargo built up. The assembly of pallet and loading were done simultaneously to save time. At 2100 hours, the Ground Handling (GHA) of MASkargo crew immediately attached and lifted the cargo onto the pallet. At 0300 hours, 3 pallets were ready to be loaded onto the aircraft. Despite initial difficulties in loading such an oversized cargo, the GHA of MASkargo loading crew persevered and all 6 x 20 feet pallets and a 40 feet pallet were successfully loaded onto the aircraft by 1730 hours the next day. The plane departed at 1917 hours. To ensure a fast delivery, the most efficient route was taken to Kota Kinabalu via Amsterdam, Dubai and Kuala Lumpur. Approximately 23 hours was taken for the entire process. Both the charterer and shipper were satisfied with the way MASkargo handled their shipments and kept their business moving.