Special Cargo: How to ship an underground loader

David, how do you know how many lashings to use for a heavyweight like a vehicle?

We know the weight of the cargo and this is what we need to secure. Each lashing ring on our flatracks has a securing capacity of 5000 kilogram and normally web-lashing belts have the same capacity. It makes no sense to use stronger lashing material when the “weakest point” is the lashing ring. There are additional factors though like height of center of gravity or the height of the cargo. We also need to prevent tipping and sliding.

Is there a special location where the underground loader is stowed on the vessel?

We try to load such kind of cargo always under deck because then it is protected against weather situations. We cannot give a guarantee on this, but 99% of the time, a flatrack with over-dimensions will be loaded there.

Would you consider this a challenging piece of special cargo to secure onto a container?

The best thing is when the cargo has direct lashing points, as is here the case. In addition, it has rubber tires which brings already a high friction with it and the cargo is heavy duty with a low center of gravity. This is definitely easier to secure than other cargo types.

What's the name of the container type?

This is a 40’ high cube flatrack with a maximum payload of 54 tons. Our flat racks are one of the strongest within the industry. The maximum payload is only a theoretical value. I would not accept such a high weight as pre-lashed. The shorter the cargo resting length is the lower is the maximum weight we can load on a flatrack. However, the higher the maximum payload is the higher is compared to lower rated flats the acceptable weight. For example, you can load a wooden case with a resting length of only 600cm and 36t on a 54t payload flatrack. The same cargo on a 49t payload flatrack would over load the equipment.