SOUTHAMPTON FREIGHT SERVICES LTD

C&MLN rescue the Carnival Splendor!

Our co-founded specialised Cruise & Marine Logistic Network has had a busy 12 months since launching at the Seatrade exhibition in Miami, 2010.

When a fire broke out on board cruise ship ‘Carnival Splendor’ off the coast of San Diego on November 8th 2010, the US based shipowners Carnival Corporation assigned delivery of the required spare parts to the Cruise and Marine Logistic Network’s founding members, Genoa-based Priano Marchelli  & C. Srl, in a proud and defining moment for our network.

Co-owning brothers of Priano Marchelli, Andrea and Claudio Giachero, coordinated the main shipping from Italy, Blue Water Shipping, in the United States handled the clearance and delivery to the ship yard in San Diego, whilst Tefra Travel GMBH and Southampton Freight Services Ltd coordinated other movement’s from northern Europe and the UK either directly to the US or into Genoa for consolidation.  The move from Italy composed of many small and medium sized items consolidated into charter movements using 747 freighter aircraft from Genoa Airport to Los Angeles, and remarkably the main engine – a single piece weighing 97 tonnes !

Several other freight carriers and airports were chasing for attaining this valuable and important contract, nevertheless the US company entrusted Cruise & Marine Logistic Network, which was deeply committed to gather different orders from various Carnival suppliers around the world.

The main operations of Genoa, Hamburg, Southampton, Miami, Los Angeles and San Diego worked closely and thoroughly to ensure that loadings, discharges and shipping activities strictly adhered to instructions received from the Carnival and Fincantieri Technical offices.

“The first 200 tons air delivery was accomplished by the 5th December, collecting from Fincantieri’s Frosinone-based supplier an order of switchboards needed to pursue shiprepair to be immediately delivered to the Carnival Splendor.  The whole operation took 28 hours; through Priano Marchelli we arranged freight collection by truck and in cooperation with the BWS US colleagues and Genoa airport staff, we chartered Kalitta airline Boeing 747 which reached Genoa from Bahrain on December 7th where palletised goods were boarded in record breaking time” illustrates Andrea Giachero, president of Cruise & Marine Logistic Network, confirming further 95 tons were shipped on Dec. 15th (through a second charter from Genoa airport) and two more were then scheduled and executed at the end of December and mid January 2011.

The main engine movement was particularly challenging – one single piece weighing 97 tonnes! Plus two other units weighing almost 50 tonnes each! A nose load Antanov Cargo Freighter was positioned at Genoa Airport and a crane on the ground to transfer the larger pieces onto the monster aircraft.

The total commitment to the Carnival Splendor was attentively observed by companies involved in this sector and positively highlighted by foreign media, hopefully reviving the town’s international image, possibly prompting a positive chain reaction on the Terminals, shipyards and Fincantieri Sestri Ponente itself.

In total our network moved over 700 tonne by airfreight through our stations  in Southampton, Helsinki, Genoa, Sydney, Copenhagen, Oslo, Billund, Hamburg , Rotterdam, Goteborg, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and  Fort Lauderdale – truly the “power of one”, as our slogan suggests. From small cartons of vital component parts to the main engine for the 113,000 tonne cruise vessel – we worked together to ensure the pieces of the jigsaw were in place when the client required.

The move was a complete success for Carnival and the Cruise & Marine Logistic Network and we feel very proud of our achievements. We all wish the Carnival Splendor safe sailing for the future.