Stricken vessel aided by charter brokers rapid response

CHAPMAN Freeborn’s Netherlands office came to the aid of a stricken ship in the Adriatic, with a rapid response to requests for passenger and cargo charter assistance.

They arranged for a specialist team of fire-fighters, divers and technical personnel and separately organised for the movement of 12.5 tonnes of salvage equipment on behalf of two freight forwarders.

The cargo ship, left badly damaged by heavy seas, was reportedly loaded with hazardous oil products and 200 trucks. With fire spreading onboard the crew were lifted to safety, leaving the ship at serious risk of sinking and causing a major ecological disaster.

The Amsterdam office was contacted requiring urgent transportation for a 12-strong team of specialists from Rotterdam to Trieste, Italy.

Passenger sales manager Bart Lorijnen immediately sourced a Dornier 328 aircraft for the charter and secured the necessary flight permits, contracts and handling arrangements inside three hours.

With the aircraft already waiting and the team preparing, news was received that the ship was drifting substantially. Chapman Freeborn was able to quickly reschedule the flight to Pula, Croatia, to get the passengers as close to the vessel’s new coordinates, as possible.

An An-12 aircraft was arranged to transport 12.5 tonnes of equipment to the region, including hoses, diving equipment and generators. The cargo charter successfully departed Maastricht the same day, within a few hours of the passenger flight.

Nielse Boelens, country manager of Chapman Freeborn in the Netherlands, said: “I would like to congratulate our team in Amsterdam on their part in these very successful charter operations.

“Responding so quickly to changing requirements and coordinating these potentially difficult charters, highlights the service we can provide passenger and cargo clients alike.”