Travelling the Ocean in Style
Lip balm, sun cream and hand cream are needed for the maiden voyage of a cruise ship to Antarctica. A dangerous goods check, the unscheduled rebooking by the forwarder and the unforeseen delay of the ship cause the last-minute delivery at the ship's last stop in Europe.
The departure in Hong Kong was already delayed because, according to the manufacturer, the sun lotion contains triethanolamines, which are dangerous goods. To avoid damage of any kind, these goods must be transported under certain conditions and specially packed. Some carriers also exclude the transport of dangerous goods completely or only allow small quantities. Whether the goods are dangerous goods or not is checked by the carrier after booking the shipment and the subsequent transmission of the contents of all goods.
In this case, the check showed that the percentage of triethanolamine was too low to classify the sun lotion as dangerous goods. Despite the positive result and the resulting less complicated carriage of the goods, the inspection meant that the original schedule could not be obtained. Instead, the carrier arbitrarily booked the shipment on a different schedule whose ETA was 8 days behind the original date. This meant that the scheduled arrival in Norway was no longer realistic and while the ship was still on its way, an alternative was sought. The IFB team was in constant contact with the customer and the recipient of the goods.
Due to the fixed departures and the great relevance of the comparatively small products, we are very grateful for the great commitment shown by our partner IFB in this difficult matter. Without the flexibility of the entire team and the solution-oriented approach, the cruise guests might not have been able to experience the icy Antarctic so carefree.
