AN ESSEX-based freight forwarding company has completed a short-notice transit to South Korea using one of the world’s largest cargo aeroplanes.

Wallis Shipping, based in Brunel Way, Colchestger, was tasked with transporting a 100 ton shipment of machinery to Asia to an extremely tight deadline.

Chief executive Stuart Gregory said: “It takes four to five weeks to send cargo to South Korea by sea, but this shipment had to be there within a few days.

“At 100 tons, the cargo was far too big for a normal aircraft, so we used our years of experience and knowledge in the industry to source an Antonov 124 aircraft.

“This is one of the largest cargo aircraft in the world – there are only ever a few such aeroplanes in Europe at any one time. It was the only one that would have been able to take such a large cargo.”

The shipment, which included two pieces weighing in at 30 tons each, was placed on the aircraft at East Midlands Airport and transported to South Korea in time for the client’s deadline.

Mr Gregory added: “Shipping such a large cargo in such a short space of time was a challenging request. We were extremely pleased that we had the contacts and expertise built up over our 25 years in the industry to find a solution for our client.”