The BBC England, a 10,380-deadweight-ton general cargo carrier operated by BBC Chartering, recently made its maiden call at the Port of San Francisco's Pier 80 marine terminal to discharge project cargo. This is the first call to the Port by a BBC Chartering vessel. Pier 80 is operated by Metro Ports and is the Port's primary breakbulk and general cargo facility.
The BBC England discharged 22 pieces of steel duct and condenser tanks that will be used in air cooling systems for the Colusa Generating Station power plant project in Maxwell, California, about 75 miles northwest of San Francisco. The vessel loaded the project cargo in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and arrived at Pier 80 on April 28. The BBC England next sailed to the Port of Long Beach before it was to head to South America to unload additional cargo. Launched in Foxhol, Netherlands in August 2003, the 468-foot vessel was built by Scheepswerf Damen Hoogezand.
Representatives from Transprojects LLC were on hand to monitor the discharge operations and arrange for inland transportation to the project site. Transprojects LLC, as forwarder for the importer, arranged the charter with BBC, managed the entire shipment from the manufacturer in Vietnam and advised BBC on the nomination of the Port of San Francisco for discharge. A division of Transgroup Worldwide Logistics, Transprojects LLC is an international projects division with agents in over 100 countries.
Sheedy Drayage Company of San Francisco was chosen to facilitate the inland trucking, and arranged to take delivery of the cargo directly from the vessel.
'The Port is delighted to welcome the BBC Chartering vessel to our port,' said Peter Dailey, Port Maritime Director. 'The breakbulk and project cargo sectors are key components of our maritime business portfolio at the Port of San Francisco, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to service BBC Chartering at the Port.'
