In 2019, cargo-partner celebrates its 15th anniversary in Serbia with currently 100 employees in the branches in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Subotica. The company provides comprehensive air and sea freight, contract logistics and road transport services to a variety of industries, with particular expertise in project cargo and live animal transportation. Since 2014, cargo-partner has been operating a modern warehouse in Dobanovci near Belgrade, offering innovative logistics, customs and value-added services.
Since December 2018, cargo-partner in Serbia has provided a new river and sea transport service for bulk, project, oversized, heavy and liquid cargo. Apart from short sea shipping in the Black Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the Aegean Sea, the logistics provider offers transport solutions via the Rhine-Main-Danube Waterway, which is a direct link between 14 European countries, crossing all regions of Europe. Value-added services include, among other things, load securing and packaging of oversized cargo.
At the end of January, cargo-partner was able to demonstrate the flexibility of this new service. One customer expected an urgent bulk consignment of conveyor belts, which has been on its way on the sea route from Shanghai to the port Constanta in Romania. The load, which consisted of 56 rolls of conveyor belts with a gross weight of more than 990 tonnes, had to be delivered to Smederevo in Serbia before 31 January.
Since the arrival of the Breakbulk ship in Constanza was delayed, the cargo-partner team had only a very short time frame to complete the delivery. The forwarder took over the consignment in Constanza and organised the transport on the Danube to Smederevo. The logistics provider managed every part of the process, from transhipment of sea and inland waterway vessels in the port of Constanza to the supervision of unloading at the port of Smederevo. The entire transport process – from arrival in Constanta to unloading in Smederevo – took nine days.
In April 2019 cargo-partner tackled another challenge: A shipment of boiler parts totaling 4,000 cubic meters, including some oversized parts, was transported on the Sava from Slavonski Brod to Belgrade and then on the Danube to Constanza.
For this project, the shipping company organised three of the largest available inland vessels. Transportation was a challenge especially on the Sava, where shipping at certain points is difficult due to fluctuating water levels. To ensure smooth transportation, cargo-partner worked with a former captain familiar with every corner of the river.
Mirko Ilic, Managing Director of cargo-partner in Serbia, is convinced that this new transport service will add value for cargo-partner and its customers: “Inland water transport is a cost-efficient and ecologically sustainable alternative to road transport. Our specialised teams have long-standing relationships with carriers and port operators and have many years of project cargo, ocean freight and inland waterway transport experience,” he says.
