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Transportation
Transportation
The major modes of transportation commonly in use are road, air and sea. The shipping of any artwork can be thought of in terms of transportation cycles. The artwork is loaded into a carrier (fine art vehicle, airplane, ship, train etc.); transported within that vehicle or carrier to a destination and then unloaded. In many cases, several different modes of transportation will be used sequentially, and the shipping history will be made up of a series of these transportation cycles.
Within any given transportation cycle, the handling and distribution phases pose very different risks.
Physical damage (puncture, abrasion, shock, vibration), thieves & vandals, fire, water, biological agents (insects, mould, vermin); contaminants (pollution); radiation (light and ultra violet); incorrect temperature; incorrect relative humidity.
Momart’s whole approach is geared to minimising risk inherent in the handling and transit of highly valued and vulnerable objects across the world.
ROAD FREIGHT
Momart pioneered the development of specialised vehicles, custom built for the safety of the art object and the comfort of up to three couriers and a two-man driver / technician team.
Momart own the UK’s largest fleet of modern fine art vehicles. These are fitted with air-ride suspension, climate control, barred and padded cargo area, heavy duty tail-lifts and the latest security and tracking features.
Using our fleet of fine art vehicles and those of our international network of partner agents, we are able to offer road freight to destinations throughout Europe and beyond. This is particularly advantageous where works are too large for the smaller scale aircraft which operate within Europe, for multiple works larger shipments , exhibitions or where the timescale is flexible enough to allow consolidation as a part load.
Road freight transport is offered on either an exclusive or part load basis.
Exclusive: Where artwork must be collected/delivered on particular days to a prescribed schedule and timescale. Restrictions for transport being the availability of a fine art vehicle and European driving restrictions.
Part-load: Where there is flexibility on the date of movement of the art works and there are no restrictions on when the works can be collected/delivered. The volume of the artwork is also limited to enable it to be combined with other suitable / compatible loads.
As vehicles are high specification fine art vehicles it is not always necessary to case works for transport, but instead they can be soft-wrapped. The nature and fragility of the artwork will determine whether cases are required or not.
AIR FREIGHT
Momart are a listed agent with the Department for Transport with regard to aviation security. Our premises and procedures are vetted by the DfT to ensure that we meet the very stringent UK aviation security regulations, probably the most rigorous in the world. Despite the extremely high security regimes surrounding all airports Momart have privileged security clearance and airside access enabling us to supervise shipments and witness loading / unloading directly onto the aircraft. We have over twenty operational staff trained to DfT standards to allow hand search and certify cases as being safe to fly.
Air freight is a standard method for transporting high value and fragile objects. There are obvious advantages for the movement of artwork, the speed of transit minimises the amount of time that the artwork is in an ‘uncontrolled’ environment and the possibilities of loss or damage.
Momart’s experience over many years has developed an intricate knowledge of different aircraft types & sizes (for passenger, combi or freighter aircraft), Unit Load Device (ULD) or pallet types & sizes, different airports and airfreight agents across the world. We research the safest and most cost effective route for artwork under our care, based on the size of the cased work, aircraft operating particular routes and the client's timeframe and deadlines. We utilise flights from all UK regional and European airports and through our network of agents across the globe.
SEA FREIGHT
For large scale monumental sculpture sea freight can be the preferred option. Transit times will be much greater taking several weeks rather than a matter of hours as with airfreight, but it can be a cost effective option.
The size, weight and nature of a particular work will determine the particular container type required (20’, 40’,General Purpose, High-Cube, Open-top, Flat-rack etc.)
Momart only operate using sole use containers.This gives us control over the loading and securing of artwork at the point of origin and allows artwork to be unloaded directly at its destination.
