18 Machines, Damaged Cases, One Team That Didn’t Leave Until It Was Loaded Right.
About This Project
How AGF Shipping coordinated a complex oilwell equipment shipment from Dubai to Lagos — flying a project specialist out to oversee it in person, and staying on the vessel until every piece was secured.
The Brief
January 2017. A client needed a large shipment of oilwell equipment moved from Dubai, UAE to Lagos, Nigeria — 18 machines in total, ranging from 50-tonne to 28-tonne pieces, plus sundry parts and cases.
Given the scale and complexity, we didn’t manage this one remotely. One of our project specialists flew to Dubai to oversee the movement in person.
The Problem
This wasn’t a single awkward lift — it was a coordination problem across 18 separate pieces, several tonnes each, with real complications on top:
– **Restricted working space** at the load site, complicating handling of multiple large machines at once
– **Damaged wooden cases** discovered on-site, requiring repacking before the shipment could safely proceed
– **Dubai’s road restrictions**, adding constraints to how and when the cargo could move to port
– A full set of compliance requirements to handle alongside the physical logistics — M Certificate surveying, SONCAP certification, and export customs formalities
The Work
Rather than coordinate this from a desk, we put people on the ground at every stage:
– Our project specialist managed collection and the on-site repacking of damaged cases, working directly with the load site team and relevant suppliers to keep 18 separate pieces moving in sequence
– Handled the full compliance package — surveying, certification, and export customs — so the client didn’t have to coordinate multiple parties themselves
– AGF’s Julian Chambers spent 14 hours aboard the vessel personally, ensuring every piece of the shipment was loaded correctly and secured for the sea crossing to Lagos
The Outcome
A genuinely complex, multi-piece shipment — complicated further by damaged cases and site constraints — moved smoothly to Lagos, with the same team that managed the load site also present for the final loading and securing at the port.
Why This Matters to You
Some shipments aren’t hard because of one big obstacle — they’re hard because of a dozen small ones that need someone physically present to catch and solve as they come up. That’s the difference between a forwarder who coordinates your shipment and one who’s actually there for it.