Planning comes before pricing
Project cargo is not general freight that happens to be large. A single piece that exceeds container dimensions changes the equipment, the vessel or aircraft, the road route, the lifting arrangement and the permits — and each of those constrains the others. The plan has to be built before a rate means anything.
Work usually starts from drawings: overall dimensions, gross weight, centre of gravity, designated lifting and lashing points, and any handling restrictions from the manufacturer. From there we establish what equipment can carry the piece, what route can physically accommodate it, and what approvals that route requires.
A quote issued without that groundwork is a guess, and guesses on project cargo are expensive. We would rather ask for drawings twice than reprice after the cargo has moved.
Information needed to plan a project move:
- General arrangement drawings or dimensioned photographs of each piece
- Gross weight per piece and the centre of gravity
- Designated lifting points, lashing points and any no-load areas
- Whether the piece can be dismantled, and to what extent
- Origin and destination site access — gate widths, turning circles, ground bearing
- Availability of cranes or lifting equipment at either end
- Required delivery window and any site or plant shutdown dates
Equipment and mode selection
By sea, out-of-gauge cargo moves on flat-rack or open-top equipment where it fits, and as breakbulk stowage where it does not. Larger and heavier pieces may need geared vessels or specialist tonnage, and stowage is priced on the deck space and lifting capacity the piece occupies rather than on a container rate.
By air, the limits are aircraft door dimensions and main-deck loading, which differ substantially between a belly hold and a main-deck freighter. Where a piece is near those limits, dimensions are checked against the specific aircraft type before the booking is confirmed rather than against a general specification.
By road, low-bed and extendable trailers, multi-axle configurations and hydraulic modular transport are selected according to weight, dimensions and the route. Cross-border movements into Saudi Arabia via Al Ghuwaifat or into Oman via Hatta add border requirements on top of the domestic route approvals.
Route survey, permits and lashing
A route survey checks the physical path against the cargo: bridge and overhead clearances, load-bearing capacity, turning radii, roundabouts, road furniture and site access at the delivery end. On a genuinely oversized move the survey decides the route, and the route decides the permits, escorts and timing windows.
Permit and authority coordination can be included where the route and equipment require it. The exact approvals depend on cargo dimensions, weight, the roads used and the delivery site, and some movements are restricted to defined night-time or off-peak windows.
Lashing and securing is engineering, not packing. Cargo has to be secured against the forces it will actually experience in transit — road, sea or air — using the designated lashing points and materials rated for the load. Correct securing protects the cargo, the equipment and everyone on the route.
Industrial machinery and energy cargo
Typical movements include industrial machinery and production plant, energy and oil and gas equipment, renewables components, generators and transformers, structural steel, construction plant and long or heavy building materials.
Much of this cargo is destined for a site rather than a warehouse, and site delivery has its own constraints: access, standing crane availability, offloading sequence and the order in which pieces have to arrive to be installed. Sequencing several pieces to arrive in installation order is often worth more to the project than the freight rate.
Where a plant shutdown or a commissioning date is driving the schedule, that date is the real specification. We plan backwards from it and flag early where a route approval or a vessel schedule puts it at risk.
Frequently asked questions
What information is needed for a project cargo quote?
Provide origin, destination, cargo drawings or dimensioned photographs, dimensions, gross weight, lifting points, packing details, site access information and the required delivery date. Without dimensions and weights a project quote is a guess.
Can you arrange heavy-lift permits in Dubai?
Permit and authority coordination can be included when the planned route and equipment require it. The exact approvals depend on cargo dimensions, weight, route and delivery site, and some oversized movements are restricted to defined time windows.
Do you ship industrial machinery to the UAE?
Yes. PSL Arabia arranges machinery shipping by air, container, flat-rack, breakbulk or specialised road transport, with customs clearance and site delivery available under one coordinator.
What is a route survey and do I need one?
A route survey checks the physical route against the cargo — clearances, load-bearing capacity, turning radii and site access. It is normally needed whenever a piece exceeds standard road dimensions, because the survey determines the route, and the route determines the permits and escorts.
Can you deliver directly to a project site?
Yes. Site delivery can include offloading coordination, crane arrangement where required, and sequencing multiple pieces to arrive in installation order. Site access details are needed at planning stage rather than on the delivery day.
Do you handle lashing and securing?
Yes. Cargo is secured using designated lashing points and materials rated for the loads expected in road, sea or air transit. Securing is planned from the cargo drawings rather than improvised at loading.