Air Charter Service was recently called into action after a ship ran aground close to the town of Lagoa, the Azores, in the Atlantic Ocean.
The 8,000 ton German cargo ship fortunately had a double hull, which meant that only the outer shell had been penetrated. So there was no spillage, and the vessel was in no immediate danger of sinking, but still needed to be treated by a specialist chemical system in order to minimize the potential corrosive damage caused by seawater before being towed for repair.
This is when Dan Morgan-Evans, Cargo Manager ACS London, received a call. The treatment had to be flown out to Ponta Delgado Airport – also on São Miguel Island in the Azores – but was located in the UK and mainland Europe. For maximum effect the treatment must be applied within a matter of days, so urgent charters were needed. Dan sourced two Antonov 12 aircraft to carry 8 tons of kit each – one departing from East Midlands Airport and one from Amsterdam.
Within a couple of days of the ship reporting the problem the necessary equipment was in Lagoa and ready to be used. After the process was completed, the ship was refloated and towed to its base port in Hamburg, Germany for full repair.
For any aircraft charter requirement please contact our team: cargo.sales@aircharter.co.uk
For more information, an interview or additional images please contact:
Glenn Phillips, PR & Advertising Manager
Tel: +44(0) 7799 692 629
Email: glenn.phillips@aircharterservice.com