UAE gives air freight a lift

The Life: With high air cargo traffic in the region, airlines have to be ready to handle a variety of goods ranging from helicopters to art work.

Emirates SkyCargo came to the rescue of a ship undergoing repairs when it transported a 36-tonne rudder part to Dubai. Courtesy: Emirates SkyCargo

Docked and in need of repair, a ship stranded at Dubai Dry Docks last month found salvation from an unlikely source.

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A 36-tonne rudder part required by the vessel was transported from its manufacturer in Seoul to Dubai by SkyCargo, Emirates Airline's freight arm. It was the heaviest single item ever carried by the airline's cargo division.

Cranes lifted the component on to the noseloader of a specially sourced Boeing 747, one of the few aircraft large enough to transport such a heavy load.

While such items are normally transported by sea, the ship's owners required a quicker delivery to cut the cost of the vessel being out of service.

"Transporting a piece of cargo this heavy requires the highest degree of care and special handling," said Hiran Perera, Emirates' senior vice president of cargo planning and freighters. "Two cranes - capable of lifting 50 tonnes each - along with two high loaders were required, while more than 30 workers in both Seoul and Dubai made sure the intricate loading operation went smoothly."

The delivery is an indication of the increasing mark regional airlines are making in the global freight market. It is also a sign of the great lengths to which carriers go to swiftly and safely freight goods as varied as luxury cars, animals and art work.

According to estimates by Boeing, global cargo traffic by 2029 is expected to grow by 5.9 per cent per year to reach 526.5 billion revenue tonne-kilometres, the industry gauge to measure the amount of freight shipped.

The long-term growth trend is expected to remain positive despite a 4.8 per cent reduction in air cargo traffic last month from the same month last year. Earlier this year another Emirates freighter helped to deliver two large helicopters to Brazil for use by the energy giant Petrobras. The helicopters will be used to service oil rigs off Rio de Janeiro.

But while cargo handlers are increasingly having to accommodate larger commercial items, they equally have to be ready to turn their skills to transporting priceless artefacts.

Etihad Airways last month carried more than 100 historic manuscripts from Berlin's State Library to the National Library of Australia in Canberra for an exhibition.Spanning 1,000 years of history, the treasures feature illuminated manuscripts, rare letters, sketches, musical scores and other documents written by major historical figures from literature, music, religion, science and philosophy. Works by Mozart, Michelangelo, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein were among those carried.

The documents were specially packed in tailor-made, humidity-controlled cargo crates for the journey. Air handlers accompanied the special cargo, carrying the most precious artefacts in protected hand-carry cases. "Overall, it is a story of great collaboration, coordination and careful synchronisation from start to finish," said Roy Kinnear, the senior vice president cargo at Etihad Airways.

"Our team at Etihad Airways, both on the passenger and cargo side of operations, worked closely with the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin and the National Library in Canberra to ensure safe passage of the priceless artefacts."

The documents will be displayed in Canberra for four months before being freighted back to the Berlin State Library.