Project Cargo and Heavy Lift Logistics

A single piece that will not fit in a container changes everything about a shipment. The vessel options narrow, the road route has to be surveyed rather than assumed, permits take weeks rather than days, and the lift at each end needs planning by someone who has seen the site. Nostrac Shipping moves project cargo and heavy lift consignments for manufacturers, contractors and equipment owners, and plans them backwards from the delivery point rather than forwards from the factory gate.

What We Move

Project work covers anything the standard container network cannot take:

• Out of gauge cargo — Pieces that exceed the internal dimensions of a standard container and travel on a flat rack or open top, with overwidth, overheight or overlength declared and planned for at booking.
• Heavy lift pieces — Single indivisible items whose weight requires a lifting plan, suitable craneage and a check on the load bearing capacity at each point of handling.
• Breakbulk consignments — Cargo shipped loose or on a vessel other than a container ship, including steel structures, pipe, plant sections and modules.
• Industrial plant and machinery — Presses, generators, transformers, compressors, tanks, boilers, mills and production lines, often disassembled into shipped sections.
• Construction and civils equipment — Excavators, cranes, piling rigs, crushers and site plant moving to and from projects.
• Energy sector components — Sections and components associated with power generation and renewable installations, where dimensions rather than weight are usually the constraint.
• Full project consignments — Multiple pieces from multiple suppliers arriving in a sequence that matches the construction programme rather than the manufacturing schedule.

How a Project Move Is Planned

The order of the planning matters. Work forward from the factory and the site becomes a problem you discover late:

• Cargo data first — Verified dimensions, weight, centre of gravity and lifting points for each piece, taken from drawings and confirmed with the manufacturer rather than estimated. Every later decision depends on these numbers being right.
• Site and route survey — The delivery point is assessed for access, hardstanding, swing room and overhead obstructions, then the road route back to the port is surveyed for bridges, roundabouts, gradients, weight restricted structures and street furniture.
• Mode and vessel selection — Flat rack or open top where the piece fits that envelope, breakbulk or a chartered solution where it does not. Availability of the right equipment on the right sailing often decides the schedule.
• Lifting plan — Craneage, spreader beams, slinging arrangements and ground bearing pressures planned for both the load and discharge ends, with a method statement for the lift.
• Permits and escorts — Abnormal load notifications to the relevant highway and police authorities, which carry statutory notice periods, plus escort arrangements where the load requires them. These notice periods drive the timeline and cannot be compressed.
• Port and terminal handling — Berth, quayside equipment, laydown area and any temporary storage arranged in advance, drawing on our own experience in port and terminal operations.
• Delivery sequence — Pieces scheduled to arrive in the order the site can receive and install them, which is rarely the order in which they were finished.

Where Project Moves Fail

Almost every serious project cargo problem comes from one of these five things:

• The dimensions were wrong — A drawing that omits a bracket, a skid or protective packaging turns an in gauge piece into an out of gauge one after the booking is made. Measure the shipped condition, not the product.
• The site was assessed too late — A load can cross a continent and then fail at the last two hundred metres because of a gate width, a low cable or ground that will not carry a crane. The site is the first thing to check, not the last.
• Permit lead times were treated as flexible — Abnormal load movements require formal notice to authorities before travel, and those periods are fixed in law. Discovering this after the vessel has been booked costs more than planning it in.
• Lifting responsibility was left unclear — Who supplies the crane, who plans the lift, who is competent to supervise it and who carries the risk should be settled in writing at the quotation stage, not agreed on the day.
• Insurance did not match the value — Project pieces are frequently high value and long lead time, and a damaged item may not be replaceable inside the programme. Cover should reflect the cost of the delay as well as the cost of the item.

Who We Do This For

• Manufacturers of plant and capital equipment shipping to overseas customers
• Contractors mobilising and demobilising equipment between projects
• Energy and industrial operators moving components for installation, replacement or overhaul
• Equipment owners relocating a production line or a complete facility
• Traders and agents handling one off oversized consignments outside their normal freight pattern

How We Work

• A firm answer on feasibility before commercial commitment — We tell you whether the move is possible, what it will realistically take and where the risks sit, before you sign a supply contract that depends on it.
• One point of responsibility — Survey, permits, vessel, lift and delivery coordinated by the same team, so nothing sits in the gap between two suppliers.
• Port operations experience applied — Our work in port and terminal management means we understand quayside constraints from the operator's side, which shortens a lot of conversations.
• Honest scheduling — A project date that accounts for permit notice periods, vessel availability and site readiness. A schedule that ignores those is not a schedule.

Related Services

• Standard containerised volume moves as FCL sea freight or LCL sea freight
• Import and export formalities, temporary admission and re-export through UK customs clearance
• Laydown, staging and interim storage through UK warehousing and 3PL
• Quayside and terminal capability under port and terminal management

Frequently Asked Questions

What counts as out of gauge cargo?

Cargo that exceeds the internal dimensions of a standard shipping container in length, width or height, so it cannot be loaded into a closed box and travels instead on a flat rack, an open top or as breakbulk. Overhang in any direction affects how the unit is stowed on the vessel and how much space is charged, so accurate shipped dimensions are the first thing we ask for.

How much notice do you need for a project move?

More than for standard freight, and the driver is usually permits and equipment availability rather than the sea leg. Abnormal load movements need formal notice to highway and police authorities before travel, specialist trailers and cranes have to be reserved, and the right vessel may only call periodically. The earlier we see the cargo data and the delivery address, the more options remain open.

Do you carry out route and site surveys?

Yes, and we treat them as the foundation of the plan rather than an add on. A survey covers access at the delivery point, ground conditions and swing room for the lift, and the road route back to the port including bridges, gradients, restricted structures and overhead obstructions. It is normal for a survey to change the recommended port or the recommended trailer type.

Who arranges the crane and the lifting plan?

This has to be agreed explicitly. We can arrange craneage, produce the lifting plan and supervise the lift, or work to a plan produced by the site or the equipment manufacturer. What we will not do is leave it undefined, because an unclear lifting responsibility is one of the most common causes of a failed delivery day.

Can heavy machinery move on a flat rack rather than breakbulk?

Often yes, and it is usually preferable because container services are more frequent and the handling is more standardised. Whether it is possible depends on the piece dimensions, its weight against the flat rack rating and whether it can be secured properly. Where it exceeds that envelope, breakbulk or a chartered arrangement is the answer.

Do you handle equipment moving temporarily and returning to the UK?

Yes. Equipment going out for a project, an exhibition or a repair and coming back can often move under a customs procedure that avoids paying duty twice, provided it is set up correctly before departure and the identity of the goods is properly documented. Our brokerage team arranges this alongside the physical move.

Can you coordinate several suppliers into one project shipment?

Yes, and this is where most of the value sits on a larger project. Pieces from different manufacturers can be brought to a common staging point, checked, stored if the site is not ready and then shipped in the sequence the installation programme needs rather than the order they were completed.

What insurance should I have on project cargo?

Cover should reflect the replacement value and the lead time of the item, not the invoice value alone. Where a damaged piece would delay a project by months, the exposure is the delay as much as the equipment. We will set out what our liability covers so the difference can be insured deliberately.

Talk to Nostrac about your requirements and we will tell you what is realistic before you commit to it.

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