Sunday, January 30, 2011

The Russians Are Coming - First Australian Freight Movement By Giant Aircraft

An-124 Quiet Enough For Exports
Shipping News Feature

AUSTRALIA – MAURITANIA – Ruslan International, the company christened after the nickname of the An-124, the aircraft which forms the basis of its fleet, saw one of the planes make an inaugural flight from Sydney this week after officials at the country’s Department of Infrastructure & Transportation passed the giant heavy lift freighter as Chapter 3 ICAO noise-compliant.

The An-124 series are to be seen serving all around the world as the workhorses of the skies carrying cargoes which range from military vehicles for NATO to whales and elephants but up to now it was necessary to prove it was in the public interest to utilise the aircraft before permission was granted to land in Australia.

Ruslan International, is a company formed in 2006 as a joint venture of Antonov Airlines and Volga-Dnepr Airlines, to manage, and provide marketing for, both airlines’ An-124 fleets (which total 17 aircraft) with the aim of optimising their utilisation.

The company submitted noise certificates for all 17 aircraft, satisfying the Department that the fleet fully complies with Chapter 3 ICAO noise standards, and is not impacted by the MCC3 noise levels regulations which opened the way for the first shipment, 105 tonnes of specialised drilling equipment for Tom Browne International Pty Ltd., bound for Nouakchott in Mauritania. Ruslan International Business Development Manager, Michael Goodisman commented:

“Tom Browne advised us that the fast delivery of this outsize drilling equipment was a key factor in securing a new drilling services contract, at the Tasiast Gold Mine in Mauritania, for Kinross Gold. The timely acceptance by the Australian authorities of the Antonov Airlines and Volga-Dnepr Airlines An-124 fleets which we manage, and the assurance this brought to Tom Browne’s own negotiations with its customer, Kinross Gold of Canada, have produced an excellent outcome for this Australian company. Ruslan International is pleased to have played its part in this highly positive result.”

Photo:- Space Systems Loral satellite container loading in Moffat Field, US, bound for Cayenne, French Guiana (courtesy Ruslan International).