18 Years, 900 Shipments, Zero Defects: COSCO Shipping Completes 900th Cross-Ocean Transport of Airbus Major Components

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 3, at Tianjin Port's Pacific International Container Terminal, as the spreader inside the hold of the vessel "COSCO Shipping Sirius" lifted with precision, pieces of Airbus A320 series aircraft major components were steadily hoisted out and lowered onto dedicated trailers. This marked the 900th shipment of Airbus major components carried by COSCO Shipping. From the first Airbus major component transported by the vessel "COSCO Seattle" arriving at Tianjin Port in 2008, to the smooth placement of the 900th shipment today, COSCO Shipping has set a record of 18 years, 900 shipments, and zero defects.

These "aircraft puzzle pieces" from the Airbus Hamburg plant must travel over 20,000 kilometers through combined sea and land transport before reaching the final assembly line in Tianjin. Aircraft components demand extremely high precision—any jolt or collision could cause irreparable damage. Leveraging COSCO Shipping Group's integrated "shipping + port + logistics" full-chain capability, COSCO Shipping Logistics Supply Chain has connected the entire process flow covering European inland waterway barges, ocean shipping, and local road transport in Tianjin. To improve vessel schedule reliability and ensure on-time delivery, COSCO Shipping Lines precisely locks berth windows based on vessel arrival plans, develops per-vessel operation plans around unloading requirements, and optimizes stowage plans and operational procedures in advance. Meanwhile, the project has introduced an AI program to update schedule changes in real time, anticipate potential risks, and optimize end-to-end operations.

Green and low-carbon development is one of the key goals of this cross-ocean supply chain. On the road transport side, 10 pure electric tractors are currently in operation. In April this year, COSCO Shipping achieved its first new-energy, all-electric road transfer of Airbus major components. An additional 5 units will be added later, bringing the total to 15 electric tractors, gradually replacing traditional fuel-powered heavy trucks. On the maritime side, the COSCO Shipping team has developed a new loading process for Airbus major components through extensive simulation calculations and actual load verification, improving per-vessel loading efficiency. The maximum number of major components loaded per voyage can reach 13, with efficient use of cargo hold space, directly reducing maritime carbon emissions per component.

The aircraft major components must travel 45 kilometers of urban roads from the port to the final assembly plant—a ground-level "major relocation" requiring extreme precision. COSCO Shipping Logistics Supply Chain has selected specialized hydraulic flatbed trailers with per-axle automatic hydraulic shock absorption and accumulators, paired with custom tooling fixtures for secure fastening, and supported by a comprehensive safeguard plan—pilot vehicles conducting advance route surveys, height-measuring vehicles providing real-time warnings, and traffic police escorting the entire journey. Transport vehicles maintain strictly controlled speeds throughout, with the longest combination reaching 33 meters traveling steadily through urban roads at speeds below 40 kilometers per hour. From an initial 4 transport missions per year at the project's inception to 79 missions completed in 2025, and from the first batch of 5 transport vehicles to as many as 11 today, the steady rise in capacity is underpinned by continuous refinement of technology and management capabilities.

Currently, approximately one-third of Airbus aircraft operated by Chinese airlines in service are produced in Tianjin. In October 2025, Airbus inaugurated its second A320 series final assembly line in Tianjin, officially entering a new phase of "dual-line operation." From the 1st to the 900th shipment, COSCO Shipping has reliably handled every link of this cross-ocean supply chain over 18 years. Standing at a new starting point, COSCO Shipping will continue to deepen its expertise in smart aviation heavy-lift logistics, applying digital twin, intelligent monitoring, and green low-carbon technologies more extensively to heavy-lift transport scenarios, safeguarding every precision cross-ocean voyage with professional capability.