Moving 3 High-Value Oversized Shuttle Cars from South Africa & Saving $160K In Tariffs

Challenge

J.A Engineering is an Australian manufacturer of coal mining machines. ICE was trusted by them to import three shuttle cars, a vehicle typically used in underground mining to transport loads of coal or minerals to short distances.

The unique equipment required transportation from Durban, South Africa to Brisbane, Australia on a strict schedule.

This was a challenging logistical task due to the size of the cars and the limited services on this routing for this type of cargo (Out of Gauge). The mass of a shuttle car is 32 tons and the dimensions are 11m long, 2.3m high and 3.5m wide. In total, ICE had to ship 120,020 kilograms with a volumetric measurement of 180m3. A heavy task!

We had initially scoped a Roll-On Roll-Off (RORO) vessel option, which is the most suitable for driveable cargo, such as cars, boats or tractors.  However, we could not secure a RORO vessel that matched our client’s delivery planning expectations – simply because those services only operate intermittently.

This is when ICE’s expertise comes in: we look for solutions to fulfil your requirements.

Solution

Rather than use RORO vessels, we pivoted to using flatrack containers on board container ships with fortnightly sailings.

At port of origin, we organised specialised cargo wrapping to ensure the integrity of the freight as it was loaded onto the vessel.

When on the water, we tracked the cargo throughout its journey as it transhipped in Singapore before completing additional stops in Melbourne and Sydney.

Daily updates were provided to the client as well as a shipment tracking screenshots. This was to ensure complete visibility of cargo status at all times.

The cargo arrived on time as per the schedule on a 38-day service.

Using a specialist handling company on arrival, we then arranged for the cargo to be offloaded at the port and transported to an unpack depot. The shuttle cars were removed from the flatracks and transported by road to Parkhurst, Brisbane on flatbed oversized trailers. We also coordinated with the client to meet the schedule of a crane operation onsite for offloading.

Going above and beyond

Given the significant value of the cargo being transported we consulted early with our customs manager and the client to determine any opportunity to reduce duty charges applicable.

Our customs brokerage team submitted a tariff advice to Australian Border Force to ensure we had absolute clarity on the classification of the product. This was so we understood precisely what duties and taxes would be payable.

We then submitted a tariff concession application with the ABF, as this product is unique in Australia and cannot be produced locally. The tariff concession was successfully approved to deliver significant cost savings for our client.

Results

ICE successfully delivered the cargo within a tight deadline, quickly pivoting to find a service that would meet the client’s schedule, despite limited options.

J.A Engineering are now on the way to potentially save $160,000 in import duty thanks to the tariff concession application with the Border Force.