Moving choppers from the Middle East to Alabama

Every project move presents challenges, and Global Shipping Services’ transport of military helicopters from the Middle East to Alabama for refurbishing was no exception.

Jim Zino, the company’s chief of project cargo development, and his team, had to figure out everything from how to get the helicopters to the Jordanian port of Aqaba, how they were to be loaded, what sort of vessel would be best, and how they were to be trucked from the port of Beaumont, Texas, where they were offloaded, to the customer’s facility in Huntsville, Alabama. Complicating the situation was the fact the customer, a defense contractor whose identity will remain confidential, wanted the choppers delivered right before Thanksgiving, and that the shipment was delayed, and had to be rerouted because of bad weather. The cargo in question consisted of two Cobra attack helicopters, part of a larger contract comprising six choppers, that the Jordanian military was sending to the United States for overhauls. “These are older helicopters, but still popular ones,” said Zino. “The Jordanian military still likes to use them but this type of aircraft is no longer manufactured and these needed to be modernized. This involves stripping them down to their bare bones and rebuilding them piece by piece.” The bid for the project was tendered on the open market and Global Shipping went up against some of the big global freight forwarders for the job, the first phase of six aircraft, part of a larger program that may involve half a dozen more. The fact that the company had Zino working for it didn’t hurt because of his decades of experience moving project cargo, including helicopters. “We were responsible for the end-to-end move,” said Zino. “On the Jordanian side, the military was also involved escorting the helicopters to the port of Aqaba. We took over at Aqaba.” Zino also had to enlist the help of a local freight forwarder to coordinate the move to the port and the loading of the cargo on the vessel. (See related story on page 2) Choppers on a Roll to US The helicopters were loaded on a roll on-roll off vessel and were outfitted with special wheels and tow bars so that they could be pulled onto the ship. The vessel was not part of a regular service but was available to call on Aqaba to meet the timetable that Global Shipping was facing. “We had to find a ship that was available,” said Zino. “When considering how to ship the helicopters, whether by ro-ro vessel or conventional breakbulk vessel, we had to consider when they would be ready for shipment, when our customer wanted to take delivery, and when a vessel might be available. This is very high-value cargo so we didn’t want the helicopters sitting in the port for too long.” The aircraft were to be towed off the ship the same way they were loaded, and then placed by cranes on special flat bed trucks. But before that could happen the shipment had to be rerouted and the trucks repositioned because of voyage delays and bad weather. “The helicopters were originally supposed to be offloaded in Jacksonville,” said Zino. “But because of delays, bad weather in the gulf, and the need to deliver the cargo before Thanksgiving, we decided it would be best to offload the helicopters at the first call, in Beaumont,” 85 miles east of Houston. “To make that happen, we had to make sure Beaumont could accommodate the offloading with space and cranes and we had to get the special trucks and trailers over there from Florida. We also had to reroute the shipment on the roads, all at the last minute, to satisfy the delivery requirements.” Complicating the issue further was the desire for everyone involved on the U.S. side, Zino included, to get home for Thanksgiving. A storm was predicted to head up the coast just then that could have jeopardized those plans. “If we couldn’t get the shipment there before Thanksgiving, everyone would have had to come back and do it after the holiday,” Zino said. “Because of the nature of the cargo, they were not allowed on the roads after sundown.” Meanwhile the vessel was delayed in arriving at the port. “The ship was supposed to arrive in Beaumont the Friday before Thanksgiving, but it didn’t come in until Saturday night,” said Zino. “We couldn’t unload on Saturday night because of bad weather so we did it on Sunday morning. Everyone worked closely together and we scrambled and got the helicopters on the road on Monday, three days before Thanksgiving.” In the end, the shipment was successfully delivered on time and Zino and his team made it home for Thanksgiving. 2 Years in the Making The helicopter deal was two years in the making, but the pressure and flexibility required to satisfy the customer are typical of project moves, in Zino’s experience. “The tender went on for over a year and once we got the contract we were waiting for them to say the helicopters were ready to ship,” he said. “Once that happened we had to spring into action and move very quickly. Other project moves include the same challenges. Customers could be building equipment for years but they tend to pull the trigger at the last minute. When the project is ready to go they tell us that they need our transportation arrangements right now. Despite the enormous complexities of these types of moves, they are often time sensitive shipments done on tight schedules.” Zino believes that his Huntsville, Alabama, customer will be moving another six helicopters that will be part of another contract that will be bid on separately. Meanwhile he is waiting for word to move the other four helicopters under the current contract. “They will probably be moving before too long,” he said. “We are just waiting for the customer to pull the trigger. It’s anybody’s guess when that is going to happen.