Blue Water achieves international renown for challenging airfreight project

Blue Water has just won the Airfreight Solution of the Year award at the international Heavy Lift Awards 2020. Blue Water took home the trophy, awarded within the project cargo category, for its involvement in the delivery of the world’s first Siemens SGT-A45 turbine.

The panel of judges found Blue Water’s transport of the turbine - which is the world’s strongest mobile gas turbine – to be the most technically complex project handled last year within this category, and Blue Water’s competent staff received acclaim for their performance.

The judges were also impressed with the size of the cargo, the bespoke design required for loading operations, the extraordinary planning involved and safety and security challenges that had to be overcome. Furthermore, it was the biggest air charter in Blue Water’s history.

Blue Water is very pleased with the award:

“Finding safe and efficient solutions to the clients’ challenging transport projects is indeed one of the strong competences of Blue Water. Over the years, we have built comprehensive experience with projects like the one that made us winner of this award. Our in-house experts contribute with the technical as well as operational part of complex transport projects on a daily basis. Therefore, we are of course very proud of the recognition from our colleagues in the industry presenting us with this award”, says Thomas Bek, Global Director for Energy & Projects at Blue Water.

The transport solution for the gas turbine involved five Antonov-124-100 freighter flights – the biggest unit measuring 30 metres in length and weighing approx. 100 tons. And we shall make no secret of the fact that manoeuvring and loading the freighter involved major challenges, but Blue Water handled the job perfectly, which the award is a proof of.

The project was handled in close cooperation between several Blue Water offices – e.g. Dubai, Billund, Esbjerg and Houston. The various in-house experts designed an efficient and safe solution for the project, also involving overland transportation in the USA, sea freight from the US to Dubai as well as four air transports from Dubai to Afghanistan and one from Turkey to Afghanistan.

Last year, Blue Water won the Heavy Lift award for Project Logistics Provider of the Year.