This week's round up of news from the world of heavy lift and project forwarding.

A report by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) this week concluded that China is now the world's largest net importer of oil and other liquid fuels.

US net oil imports dropped to 5.98 million barrels a day in December 2013 while in the same month China's net oil imports surged to 6.12 million barrels a day.

Such an influx of crude oil may lead to greater investment in refineries in China, which ought to create promising potential for project forwarders serving the country.

Elsewhere, a USD18 billion project to construct a 1,700 km long oil pipeline from Iraq to Jordan seems set to go ahead soon, giving a welcome boost for project forwarders in Jordan, Iraq and neighbouring countries.

This week's Friday Flyer is sponsored by DB Schenker Global Projects, a team of logistics experts at your service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, delivering tailor-made logistics solutions.
    

In the corporate world

For its 2013 financial year, Agility's net profits stood at KD46.2 million (USD164.1 million) - an increase of 37 percent over 2012. Panprojects saw its turnover grow by 20 percent year-on-year during 2013, while Gebrüder Weiss' turnover also increased for the fourth year in a row, with the company generating preliminary net sales of roughly EUR1.2 billion (USD1.65 billion) in 2013.

Seaway Heavy Lifting was awarded the contract for the transport and installation of 67 foundations and one substation for the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm project, while Alexander Global Logistics secured the transportation project for a pipe and tube production plant in the USA.


Capacity developments

Portside, Siemens confirmed that it will be investing GBP160 million (USD264 million) in wind turbine production and installation facilities in Hull (pictured top right), while the Canaveral Port Authority announced that the widening and deepening of Canaveral Harbor will begin in April and is scheduled for completion during November 2014. BMT Asia Pacific completed a concept heavy lift jetty design for Petronas' proposed RAPID complex in southeast Johor, Malaysia.

On the water, Enercon recommissioned its E-1 Ship 1 vessel, which is now back in service transporting wind turbine components and Gray Offshore took delivery of the ABS-classed ocean deck barge, Julius, from Conrad Shipyard LLC (pictured second right).

On the ground, Wagstaff Crane Service took delivery of a new 300-tonne capacity Grove GMK6300L all terrain crane, while Gertzen Krane & Transporte GmbH received a Liebherr LTM 1750-9.1. At the CONEXPO in Las Vegas, TII Group presented its Scheuerle 4-axle WideCombi PowerBooster (pictured third right).

Up in the air, AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) launched a new twice-weekly B747-8 freighter service connecting Dallas/Fort Worth with Amsterdam and Moscow, as well as introducing direct freighter flights from Frankfurt to Chicago.


Shipments of the week

R&B Global Projects handled the shipment of a series of dismantled dump trucks and spare vehicle bodies for the mining industry from Japan to Guinea's port of Conakry.

Martin Bencher USA and TotalViax worked together to transport a 91.6-tonne rotary railcar dumper (pictured top right) from its manufacturer's premises in New Orleans to Venezuela.

Wagenborg Nedlift used a 750-tonne LR1750 crawler crane to lift a 101-tonne reactor into position at the H&R ChemPharm GmbH production site in Salzbergen (pictured second right).

Tradelossa is currently engaged in a super heavy movement, which will see it transport an 880-tonne C2 splitter column (pictured bottom right) from a Mexican port to its project site.

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

Got some shipment news of your own? Send it in to editorial@heavyliftpfi.com


Projects and contracts

This week, the Gazprom-lead consortium building the offshore section of the 2,500 km South Stream Pipeline - transporting Russian gas to Southern and Central Europe - has awarded major contracts for the second line, despite an EU decision to delay talks on the scheme.

Elsewhere, Germany's second largest utility provider RWE AG has agreed the sale of its oil and gas exploration unit, RWE Dea Ag, to Russia's Alfa Group at an enterprise value of EUR5.1 billion (USD7.02 billion).

The Scottish Government has given the go ahead to the Beatrice and Moray offshore wind farms that will be located in the outer Moray Firth.

Please visit the HLPFI website for more EPC developments, or contact David Kershaw


On the move

Cargolux appointed former Kuehne + Nagel executive Dirk Reich (pictured top right) as its new president and ceo, while Jannie Davel joined DHL Global Forwarding, Americas as senior vice president of air freight. WWL ALS opened a new office in Aberdeen, which will be managed by Hull based senior manager of projects and shipping, Richard Platts. Famous Pacific Shipping (FPS) Australia also expanded its network with the opening of a new sales office in Albury, New South Wales which will be managed by Alan Mckeown (pictured bottom right), and Martin Bencher opened a new office in Kristiansand, Norway with business development manager Hongyi Niu taking the helm. AltéAd opened a new facility at the Port of Antwerp's breakbulk terminal to handle project cargoes, while American Worldwide Agencies (AWA) established a new office in Houston to be headed up by Reagan Jones, who will be responsible for the company's project and breakbulk business.


Network news

XLProjects (XLP) welcomed South Africa based Access Freight Africa Ltd to its ranks, while the Cargo Equipment Experts (CEE) network appointed M.A.Z. Shipping & Consolidation Services Ltd as an exclusive member for Pakistan. Georgian project forwarder CargoMarket became the latest member to join the Project Cargo Network (PCN) and the Pacific Power Logistics (PPL) network added Austria's Trailfracht to its roster. The Project Partners network confirmed that it would be holding its 7th membership conference at Lake Tegernsee in Germany from October 9 - 11, 2014.


All about Evie

Evie noted with interest this week that breeding seagulls are delaying the construction of Verbrugge Group's new container and breakbulk terminal currently being built in Zeebrugge.

Being a bird lover at heart, Evie was encouraged that the seagulls are not being driven from the premises, but hopes that the situation can be resolved quickly for Verbrugge Group.

Evie is also left wondering what the current breakdown in relations between Russia and the Ukraine may have on the joint aviation projects between the two countries, such as the future of the Russian operated AN-124s and long term development projects between Kiev and Moscow.

 

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