Ruslan International has transported oil and gas equipment from Milan, Italy to Qindao, China.

MP Holland, a freight forwarder based in the Netherlands, needed to move over 100 tons of cargo to Penglai Jutal Offshore Engineering Heavy Ind.

The consignment included two 31.2 tonne crates, which meant that external loading cranes specially designed for loading heavy cargo were required to move them on and off the AN124-100.

Alexander Gerasimov, Ruslan sales executive, said: “Cargoes of this size require specialist aircraft - only the AN124-100 is capable of moving such vast loads.”

Sander Rothert, operations director and co-owner of MP Holland, said: “We are delighted that we were able to complete this mission in spite of challenges posed by the weight of the cargo, as well as time restrictions.”