Recently, Hamburg S'd transported a particularly valuable cargo. Using the charter vessel "Cap Lobos," the company shipped a major part of the exhibits for the exhibition "Egypt's Sunken Treasures" - which, in a world premiere, will be on display at the Martin-Gropius Bau in Berlin from May 13 to September 4 - from Alexandria to Hamburg.
The go-ahead for the transport of the exhibits, which date from the period 700 BC to AD 800, was given in the final week of March at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. There the historic finds - from the more than 5-metre-high granite statue to the small gold coin - were packed into eight 20-foot containers under the knowledgeable guidance of the museum's experts. The precious cargo was then trucked to the port of Alexandria, where the containers were stowed securely below deck and shipped to Hamburg on April 2.
The choice of Hamburg S'd was made for two main reasons: on the one hand, the shipping group has many years' experience in transporting sensitive cargo and, on the other, the area office in Turkey proved to be the only one of the museum's contacts capable of guaranteeing direct transport, without transshipment, from Alexandria to Hamburg. How valuable the freight is can be measured not only by the multiplicity of special insurance packages put together for this project, but also by the fact that three security personnel accompanied it throughout the voyage. This applied equally to the final leg of the exhibits' journey, from Hamburg to Berlin, which was performed by truck last weekend.
"Egypt's Sunken Treasures", which, aside from just a few exhibits, has never been shown to the public, was discovered by the French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio. They come from the ancient cities of Alexandria, Canopus and Herakleion, where they sank beneath the sea after several natural disasters. In their day, these cities were the centres of learning and international trade of advanced cultures. More on the exhibition is available at: www.aegyptens-versunkene-schaetze.org.
