It was a route stretching from the Trabzon Free Zone on the Black Sea in Turkey to Sangachal, south of Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, on the Caspian Sea. The project: the Trans Global Projects Group (TGP), a UK-based international project logistics specialist, headed up project logistics management to deliver 22 new 17.7-megawatt engines for a 400-megawatt power station currently under construction in Sangachal. 

Over the course of 90 days, TGP’s specialists worked with partners in both Turkey and Azerbaijan to plan and execute the shipment. The transport of the gigantic engines, measuring 14 m x 4.5 m x 6.35 m, had to be completed before the winter freeze ended the navigable season for the Volga-Don canal system over winter from late November until early March each year. In total, the cargo moved was 8,200 cm – with each engine weighing around 295 t.
 At a storage site in Turkey, the engines were initially loaded on three ULUS-type sea-river general cargo vessels, which sailed within a 10-day period to their transit destination in Baku. To discharge the engines in Baku most cost-effectively, TGP chartered the “DB Azerbaijan”, a river vessel with 2,500 t lifting capacity. The distance from Trabzon Turkey to Baku Port via the Volga-Don canal system is about 2,745 km by water.
Due to Azerbaijan’s rugged backcountry, the bulk of the intermodal road and ship transport to Baku was covered by ship. Once the engines arrived in Baku, TGP experts mobilised 16- and 20-axle self-propelled trailers to ship the cargo on its onward journey by truck along the coast of the Caspian Sea to Sangachal, located around 50 km south of the capital city. Discharging of the massive pieces of equipment to stillages on site at the new power plant was performed using a 1,350-t capacity gantry system. Start of operations for the new power plant, which will be integrated into the public power grid, is slated for 2020.
The Trans Global Projects Group has had a presence and team in Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus region of Eurasia since the early 1990s. Colin Charnock, TGP CEO, highlights, “With decades of experience paired with our strong network of partners in the region, TGP has become a trusted partner for clients and companies in the region’s power and gas and oil industries.”
Located at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Eurasia, Azerbaijan considers itself as "Land of Fire.” The country is a centre for oil and gas production – and the new power station in Sangachal will contribute to further guarantee the energy supply of Azerbaijan.