The Friday Flyer - January 17th 2014

165 years have passed since the Nicaraguan government granted Cornelius Vanderbilt the right to build a canal through the country.

However, a statement this week by the company contracted in 2012 to finance and build a canal across the country indicates that work will start in December of this year.

Meanwhile news that the consortium responsible for the Panama Canal expansion project is in danger of losing USD574 million in guarantees and advance payments if an ongoing dispute regarding cost overruns is not resolved, leaves hopes unsurprisingly low for the problem free execution of another canal project in Central America.

Wilfrid Henry Curtis, once chairman of the Grand Union Canal Company, said that every now and then public interest in canals flares up and is brought prominently to the attention of the public, but as a rule such interest is short lived. It remains to be seen whether this will hold true for Wang Jing's ambitious plans for Nicaragua.

This week's Friday Flyer is sponsored by DHL Industrial Projects, which aims to be the logistics partner of choice to the oil and gas, mining, power generation and construction industries. Its expertise in cargo scheduling and materials management means it can offer tailored solutions for unique outsize cargoes and heavy lift.

The HLPFI App - come and get it! 

The HLPFI App is now available to download from the App Store and Google Play, enabling you to read Heavy Lift & Project Forwarding International (HLPFI) magazine on any smartphone and tablet.

You can download every issue of HLPFI via the new App, but don't hang around. The first 100 people to register for the HLPFI App will receive their first edition for FREE. Register by contacting joe@heavyliftpfi.com

In the corporate world

SDV, part of the Bolloré Group, has acquired Belgian conventional and project freight forwarder, EDT with the company's founder, Carl Boelens, joining the SDV team in Belgium.

Aeroscraft Corporation (Aeros) and Pacific Airlift have agreed to explore the mutual benefits of the lighter-than-air rigid airship (pictured right).

STX Corp, the holding company of Korean conglomerate STX Group, has agreed to salvage the firm in the form of a USD660.3 million debt-to-equity swap, say reports from the South Korean media.

Capacity developments

Two Kalmar Cargotec ship-to-shore cranes have been delivered to the APM Terminal in the Maasvlakte II area, Rotterdam on board Coscol's DA KANG (pictured top right).

Knaack-Krane has has immediately deployed its recently acquired 750-tonne capacity Liebherr LTM 1750-9.1 mobile crane on the Stößen-Teuchern wind farm (pictured bottom right).

TTS Group ASA will deliver three heavy lift cranes for a cargo training vessel owned by Dalian Maritime University in China.

Shipments of the week

Croatia's R&B Global Projects handled the delivery of a 152-tonne plate mill back-up roll (pictured top right) from Yokohama to the Port of Rotterdam, from where it is to be transported by barge to Austria.

Blue Water Singapore completed the logistics operations for the Leichhardt power station in Mount Isa, Australia, which included the delivery of a 104-tonne AC generator (pictured second right) from the UK and a 56-tonne Rolls-Royce gas turbine generator from Ohio.

ALE and Drydocks World collaborated to perform the lifting and mating of a 10,000-tonne topside (pictured bottom right) using a bespoke gantry system, for the semisubmersible HVDC platform DolWin Beta. The mammoth topside was lifted to an impressive final height of 52.8 m.

Other notable projects reported by HLPFI this week can be seen on the archive news area of our website.

On the move

Leif Arne Strømmen (pictured top right) will take over as global lead of projects, oil and gas, and marine logistics at Kuehne + Nagel, succeeding Nils Wolf who has retired and established his own company - Nils Wolf & Associates GmbH - in Hamburg. BBC Chartering has a new office in Rouen, with Charles Akrout named country manager. Hansa Heavy Lift has established an office in Perth, with ex-Kestrel Maritime employees, John McNamara and Trent Robson, jumping ship to manage it. Canaveral Port Authority has hired industry stalwarts Alberto Cabrera and George Arocha to expand cargo business development and terminal operations. Oy Hacklin Logistics has opened a business unit - Hacklin East - focusing on railway transport and freight forwarding to and from CIS countries, with Hannu Pesonen named vice president. Entrec Corporation has appointed John Stevens (pictured bottom right) as president and ceo. He succeeds Rod Marlin, who becomes executive chairman. Klaus Stoltenberg is joining Deutsche Bank as global head of shipping.

Network news

The XLProjects (XLP) network has grown this week to include Istanbul based KG Projects; QC Logistics from Chittagong; and Copenhagen based Sacema Project Shipping.

Meanwhile Ho Chi Minh City headquartered Vietranstimex and Sigmai Trade & Logistics from Israel have joined the GPLN, while existing member The Freight Co. Ltd added its office in Yangon to the network's roster.

All about Evie

Evie was the first to download the new HLPFI App from the App Store and is already reading the most recent edition on her iPad.

She loves the opportunity this presents to read HLPFI on the move and encourages everyone to download the App, especially as the first 100 people to register will get their first edition for free.

She sends her congratulations to Spatial Global, which triumphed in the BIFA Freight Service Awards, and was presented with the Project Forwarding trophy at this week's ceremony, pipping finalists Charles Kendall Freight, Moto Freight and UFS.

Evie is sending a gentle reminder that the first gathering of the Southern Heavy International Transport Society is being held next Friday, January 24, at the Tokenhouse, 4 Moorgate, London EC2 from 18:00h. More details from Andy Miller on 01372 866157 or andy.miller@kbr.com