Nigeria
Two projects were executed simultaneously by the client in Nigeria. The first was the construction of the USA Embassy in Abuja and the second was the construction of the Shell Camp in the Delta Region. The scope was to ensure that both plant and equipment arrived at the stipulated destination(s) in tact; and so too, the consumables and raw material required to complete the construction of all facilities.
Despite the fact that both projects had been exempted from any statutory payments, endless negotiation had to be entered into every time a shipment had to be cleared. The greatest challenge was the negotiation with the Nigerian customs and port authorities. It is estimated that we shipped a total of 33 000m³ of cargo and successfully facilitated the return of 27 000m³ to South Africa.
Equatorial Guinea
In addition to being responsible for the entire Freight Forwarding and Logistics from South Africa to the Island of Malabo in Equatorial Guinea, the successful tenderer also had to arrange accommodation and transport for all construction site employees for the duration of their stay on the Island. Approximately 18000m³ of plant and equipment were moved from Johannesburg to Malabo. Due to the draft constraints in the Malabo Port, transfer of almost 90% of the cargo was done at anchorage using barges to facilitate transportation to the shore.
A greater challenge was the completion of all documentation in an effort to ensure the problem free return of both plant and equipment to South Africa. Locally, care had to be taken in ensuring that export was done under customs supervision with every single item being registered for re-importation. As a result of the constraints, only charter vessels were utilized – both for the original export as well as the subsequent return of the cargo. In total, 7 vessels were chartered