This week's round up of news from the world of heavy lift and project forwarding.
The multipurpose shipping sector was a bright light in what was an overwhelmingly cautious annual report from the German Shipowners Association (VDR), published this week.
Michael Behrendt, president of the VDR, observed a recovery in MPV demand towards the end of 2013 as the European economy stabilised; and with hardly any smaller ships being ordered the demand for larger units is growing.
For the overall shipping sector, a global oversupply of cargo capacity continues to impede a sustainable recovery in freight and charter rates. The depletion of shipping portfolios, plus tougher ship financing rules of German banks continues to pose challenges to shipowners.
An emerging sector that should have international project forwarders licking their lips is the solar power installation market. 2013 saw record-breaking growth for the sector with 39 GW of photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) installed globally - approximately one-third of all renewable energy capacity installed last year.
This week's Friday Flyer is sponsored by WWL ALS, a freight forwarding company specialising in the global logistics of project forwarding, capital equipment, abnormal loads and supply chain management.
In business
Allseas Global Logistics is now wholly owned by managing director Darren Wright, who co-founded the company 11 years ago and was formerly the majority shareholder.
The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) issued an initial determination in a patent infringement and trade secrets case filed by Manitowoc against Sany.
DSV posted a net revenue of DKK23.76 billion (USD4.26 billion) for the first half of 2014, compared with a figure of DKK22.38 billion (USD4.01 billion) in the same period of 2013.
The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) moved more than 29 million tonnes of cargo in its 2014 fiscal year.
Air Partner's freight division continues to show progress, but this was offset by weaker than expected group trading in the period since the company's AGM in June.
Terex Corporation's net sales were USD2.05 billion in the second quarter of 2014 - 10 percent higher than in the same period of 2013.
Capacity developments
Port Manatee was awarded a USD1.8 million security grant that will allow the gateway to proceed with three significant projects.
MetOcean Solutions is set to launch its Ocean Motion Forecasts system which delivers predictions on how wave, current and weather conditions affect floating offshore facilities.
The BOW terminal in Vlissingen was awarded a contract for the storage and transfer of 75 pile foundations for the Gemini offshore wind farm project.
Austral Asia Line is adding a call at Long Beach to its service connecting North Asia with the Pacific North West, Canada and US West Coast.
Crowley Maritime Corp has grown its presence in the Asia Pacific market by opening a project management office in Singapore.
Sinan Heavy Lift LLC purchased a Goldhofer THP/SL platform trailer, which has a total payload of over 700 tonnes.
Shipments of the week
ALE completed a turnkey project to transport and install heavy equipment, which included a 385-tonne gas turbine, for the Carrington CCGT power station in Manchester.
India's Reshamsingh handled the 1,500 km road transport of three 848-tonne VGO reactors from Kandla Port to the Bhatinda refinery.
The 200th shipment for Airbus' A320 final assembly line in Tianjin, China was loaded onto the containership COSCO Hope at the HHLA container terminal Tollerort in Hamburg.
Hansaeng Express shipped a 502-tonne CO2 absorber and a 225-tonne converter from Kunsan in Korea to Assaluyeh, Iran.
Other notable projects reported by HLPFI this week can be seen on the archive news area of our website.
Capital projects and contracts
Italian oil and gas contractor Saipem was awarded new drilling contracts in Indonesia, Nigeria, the Arabian Gulf and Latin America worth approximately USD850 million.
Alstom was warded contracts to supply a power island for Iberdrola's Monterrey III combined-cycle power plant in Mexico.
An agreement was signed by the governments of Argentina and China to build a third pressurized heavy water reactor at the Atucha nuclear power plant in Argentina.
On the move
The Long Beach board of harbour commissioners re-elected Doug Drummond as president of the board for the next 12 months. GAC appointed Claus Schensema to take the helm of GAC North America Logistics in Houston, Texas.
Network news
The XLProjects (XLP) network gained TeamAM as a new member in the UK, as well as Hermes as a new representative in Poland. Brazil's Agencia Maritima Orion and Access Shipping & Logistics (ASL) in Uganda joined the Project Cargo Network (PCN). Meanwhile, the WCA Projects network welcomed Oman's Edge International Freight Solutions LLC and Zambia's VS Cargo to its roster.
All about Evie
An avid equine enthusiast, Evie took a keen interest in Lufthansa Cargo's record-breaking flight from Frankfurt to Tehran. The special B777F flight saw 65 stud and competition horses flown in luxury to the Iranian capital - each accommodated in "bright and friendly" horse containers.
This week Evie also found herself supporting UK heavy haulage firm ARR Craib Transport as it begins 12 months of fundraising for cancer treatment charity Friends of Anchor, as well as the learning disability organisation Archway and road safety campaigners, Brake.
