The winners of the Heavy Lift Awards 2021 have been revealed.
The Heavy Lift Awards 2021 saw the very best of the industry come together to celebrate the achievements of the project cargo supply chain – from the engineering efforts behind the impressive moves and lifts, to the work that puts training and safety at the forefront of our sector.
After much deliberation from our panel of judges, the winners have been revealed.
Airfreight Solution of the Year
Winner: deugro
The first award of the evening – Airfreight Solution of the Year, sponsored by Sarens – saw deugro take home the trophy. deugro impressed with its door-to-door delivery of a generator circuit breaker unit, with dimensions of 6.22 m x 2.85 m x 3.20 m and a weight of about 10 tonnes, from Switzerland to the USA.
Volga-Dnepr was highly commended in this category for its handling of 48 AN-124 flights in a 90-day period to deliver some 3,000 tonnes of medical supplies.
Environment Award
Winner: Stena Line
The next award of the evening was the Environment Award, sponsored by Blue Water Shipping. Stena Line took the win in this category for its considered approach to the environment through its operations and its initiatives in the pipeline, including modernising its fleet, deploying new technology and the electrification of its shipping operations.
Our judges also highly commended the efforts of Emmert International, which showed immense consideration to the environment it was operating in when delivering a 667-tonne reactor pressure vessel 1,126.5 km to a decommissioning site in Utah.
Network/Association of the Year Award
Winner: Aerospace Logistics Group
Meanwhile, Aerospace Logistics Group took home the trophy for the Network/Association of the Year Award. As a specialist association with members in 61 countries, the Aerospace Logistics Group strives to provide tailored transportation solutions to the needs of the aerospace industry.
Port/Terminal Operator of the Year
Winner: Logistec Stevedoring.
The fourth award of the ceremony – Port/Terminal Operator of the Year – went to Logistec Stevedoring. With operations spanning 79 terminals and 53 ports in North America, Logistec specialises in the handling of over-dimensional and project cargoes, including wind energy components such as blades, towers and nacelles for wind OEM’s, forwarders, shippers and carriers alike.
Highly commended in this category was Basra Gateway Terminal, which has continued to invest in infrastructure and expertise, resulting in an increase in the handling of container, project and ro-ro cargoes.
Overland Transport Provider of the Year Award
Winner: Collett & Sons
The Overland Transport Provider of the Year Award was well deserved by Collett & Sons for the execution of a number of impressive projects, including the transport of a 160-tonne turbine and 120-tonne generator to the Rookery South Energy Recovery Facility.
Training Award
Winner: Sarens
Up next was the Training Award. Sarens scooped the win in this category, with the judges noting that the company was the first in Belgium to obtain a certificate to offer the European Crane Operator License (ECOL) training to its staff.
Safety Award
Winner: Gulf Stream Marine
For its development of a safety management system (SMS) and an online HSEQ platform, Gulf Stream Marine was awarded the Safety Award, sponsored by MyCrane. The SMS and online HSEQ platform allows the company to conduct incident investigations, audits and inspections, and implement corrective and preventative actions.
Innovation Award
Winner: Mammoet
The prestigious Innovation Award, sponsored by RTL, was awarded to Mammoet, which wowed with its FOCUS30 crane – the first high-capacity pedestal crane in the 2,500-tonne class that can be assembled vertically.
Excellence in Engineering Award
Winner: Fagioli
The Excellence in Engineering Award, sponsored by DHL Industrial Projects, received a number of impressive entries this year. Fagioli took home the trophy for this award, for its fabrication of a tailor-made catamaran, composed of two barges and a launching system, for the installation of a 1,800-tonne plinth at open sea.
The judges also extended an honourable mention to Sarens in this category, for the role it played in the installation of 89 monopiles as part of the Windpark Fryslân.
The Project of the Year Award
Winner: deugro
The Project of the Year Award, sponsored by Fesco Projects, received a staggering number of noteworthy entries, and competition was high this year. deugro are the worthy winners of this award, for its transport of 35,541 freight tons of cargo simultaneously on two fully chartered vessels for a remote ethylene and polypropylene plant from Masan, South Korea, to Ust-Kut, Russia.
Ship Operator of the Year
Winner: United Heavy Lift (UHL)
Another hotly contested award, the Ship Operator of the Year, sponsored by Trans Global Projects, was bestowed to United Heavy Lift (UHL). The carrier delivered 480,000 freight tons of cargo in one of the most challenging shipping campaigns for BHP’s South Flank Project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Project Logistics Provider of the Year
Winner: deugro
deugro took home its third award of the evening, for the Project Logistics Provider of the Year, sponsored by AAL Shipping. deugro has evolved over the past ten years, investing in people, assets, process improvement and technology, including future-orientated IT systems.
Osprey, which had a landmark year in 2020, came highly commended in this category. Osprey played an integral role in EDF’s Hinkley Point C construction project and demonstrating its commitment to the environment, local communities and recruitment in the industry.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Winner: Dennis Mottola
The final award of the evening, the Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Barrus Projects, went to a highly deserving Dennis Mottola. For those unfamiliar, Mottola worked at Bechtel for more than 20 years and is now supporting the industry as a consultant. Those in the industry who have worked with Mottola say he has always demonstrated to be a man of trust and truly reliable to do business with, pushing frequently the boundaries of what most people thought impossible.