Grow Faster with Flexible Ground Shipping

When a major ship manager faced a critical engine breakdown in Spain, the immobilized vessel began to run up costly downtime losses. 

To get operations back on track quickly, the customer turned to the marine logistics experts at Marinetrans, an AIT Worldwide Logistics company, for urgent support moving the ship’s heavy engine components overseas for repair and returning them as soon as the work was complete.

The project was complex from the start. The components weighed nearly 6,000 pounds (2,700 kilograms) and had to be professionally cleaned and crated before shipping to Sweden for immediate repair. Adding to the challenge, summer air capacity was limited, with airlines prioritizing passengers, baggage and mail over bulky belly cargo.

The team activated its emergency logistics protocol and developed a plan aligned with the customer's repair timeline. After coordinating safe removal, cleaning and crating of the engine components in Spain, bonded transport and customs requirements were managed for the international move. When no suitable commercial air cargo capacity was available, a dedicated charter flight was secured within 24 hours along with overnight trucking from the destination airport to the repair facility.

Then came an unexpected setback. Midway through its Friday flight, the chartered aircraft experienced a critical mechanical failure and made an emergency landing at a small military airport in Denmark.

The marine logistics team responded immediately. At 11 p.m., they engaged a local agent to coordinate with airport authorities. By Saturday morning, the team’s contingency plan was underway, with emergency support equipment arriving on site, including a forklift for cargo handling. Customs procedures were quickly amended to allow bonded entry through Denmark, and the cargo was loaded onto trucks before 11 a.m. for direct delivery to the repair facility.

Once repairs were complete, the marine logistics team managed the components' return to the disabled vessel with the same precision. They collected, repacked and moved the pieces by hotshot truck to Amsterdam, then booked them on the only available widebody aircraft capable of accepting the shipment. When the cargo arrived in Spain at 9 a.m. on Saturday, the team had already arranged for customs overtime. The shipment was cleared and delivered back on board the vessel that evening.

Through rapid coordination, contingency planning and hands-on problem-solving, the customer's delays and financial exposure were minimized and the vessel returned to service as quickly as possible.

When a biotechnology company specializing in cardiovascular treatments needed to move a high-value, full-size pallet of temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals from Canada to a customer distribution facility in the United States, AIT’s life sciences logistics experts in both countries made it happen.

The shipment required careful coordination to remain within a controlled range of 15 to 25 degrees Celsius, as well as precise documentation for its cross-border journey. To support the customer’s requirements, AIT life sciences teams in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Toronto collaborated to plan and execute an overnight temperature-controlled vehicle delivery.

Before pickup, an AIT life sciences lead was on site at the shipper’s facility to oversee critical origin activities. Following the shipper’s standard operating procedure, the lead completed shipping documents, affixed temperature monitors to the pallet and confirmed required labels were in place, including temperature-sensitive, time-sensitive, and do-not-stack handling labels. AIT’s on-site expert also ensured photos were taken before, during and after loading, then shared with all stakeholders, including the customer, to support shipment visibility and documentation.

Once the pallet was loaded, the temperature-controlled vehicle was sealed at the shipper’s location. The seal remained in place through delivery at the receiver’s site, supporting chain-of-custody expectations for the shipment. AIT also supported customs clearance, enabling a quick turnaround for the Canada-to-U.S. move.

The appointment-based pickup was arranged four days after initial contact, and the shipment moved door-to-door overnight. The pharmaceuticals arrived on time with no temperature excursions, damage or loss.

For the customer, AIT’s coordinated life sciences logistics network delivered the right combination of planning, onsite execution, customs support and proactive communication. For a shipment where timing, temperature and documentation were the top priorities, AIT helped protect product integrity from origin to destination.

In the energy industry, speed, efficiency and precision are everything—especially when it comes to logistics. That’s why a leading global energy provider turned to AIT Worldwide Logistics to transport a massive shipment of calcium carbonate from Norway to England.  

The freight included 300 large bags (1,000 kilograms each) and 275 metric tons of loose calcium carbonate—an essential material for drilling fluid systems, which are critical for oil and gas exploration.  

AIT delivered a seamless, end-to-end solution in just two weeks, leveraging our charter vessel expertise and coordinating more than two dozen trucks to collect and deliver the loose material. Additional services included equipment management for crane loading and customs clearance, all powered by AIT’s one-stop-shop model.