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

Staff at HLPFI have been left wondering what effect the situation in Ukraine may have on the global economy and international trade.

Ukraine is the world's fifth-largest exporter of steel and a crucial gateway for Russian natural gas to Western Europe. Its location on the northern coast of the Black Sea makes it a key part of a major shipping route for energy, agricultural products and metals.

The turmoil in the Crimea seems to be affecting markets less than economists originally feared and Ukrainian port operators have reassured shipping lines that its business is as usual.

But with the unrest continuing and no sign of a solution, the shipping and freight industries remain on tenterhooks as they wait for the inevitable trade disruption if the crisis escalates.
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 lifts.


In the corporate world

Boskalis has agreed to acquire Fairmount Marine and Fairmount Ocean Towage Co from Louis Dreyfus Armateurs.

China Navigation Company (CNCo) has completed the purchase of Pacifica Shipping from New Zealand's Skeggs Group.

Panalpina reported an earnings before interest or taxes (EBIT) of CHF48 million (USD54 million), or CHF108 million (USD121 million) when adjusted for non-recurring items.

The Port of Tacoma posted a 15 percent rise in breakbulk cargo volumes compared with the same period in 2013.

Following an 8 percent decline in overall cargo volumes in 2013 through the port of Brake, the port's operator J. Müller Group has called for the River Weser's infrastructure to be improved.

Despite commending steps taken by President Obama toward increasing the investment in infrastructure connecting to US seaports, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) expressed disappointment over the changes in federal port-related programmes proposed in the President's FY 2015 budget.


Capacity developments

Ulferts & Wittrock has added several Nooteboom low-loaders to its fleet, including the latest generation Nooteboom eight-line MCO-PX semi low-loader with detachable Multidolly (pictured right).

Manitowoc Cranes has debuted its Grove RT770E rough terrain crane utilising Samson's KZ 100 - the first synthetic hoist rope designed specifically for mobile cranes.

From March 9, Kalitta Air is launching a twice weekly B747-400F scheduled service routing New York - Amsterdam - New York in cooperation with Inter Aviation Services (IAS) and HAE Group.

Harren & Partner (H&P) is to implement DNV GL's business intelligence software systems ShipManager Analyzer and ShipManager QHSE for its entire fleet of 52 vessels.


Shipments of the week

Four of Crowley's ocean class tugs and the Harvey War Horse II, towed the semi-submersible floating production facility Jack/St. Malo into position in the US Gulf (pictured top right).

Van der Vlist collected seven CAT D8R bulldozers in Germany and transported them by road to port, before shipping them to Bata, Equatorial Guinea on a ro-ro vessel.

ALE Heavy Lift contracted Robert Wynn and Sons' barge, Terra Marique, to deliver the 400-tonne GT 26 turbine to Alstom's Carrington Power Station via the Manchester Ship Canal.

MFC Transport handled the transportation of two 125-tonne air heat exchangers (pictured third right) from Walchandnagar Industries to the BHAVINI nuclear power plant in Kalpakkam, India.

Hacklin Logistics transported an 80-tonne steel tank (pictured bottom right) from its manufacturer's premises to the port of Pietarsaari in Finland, and on to the Norwegian port of Odda.

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

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


On the move

Intermarine LLC has appointed Mark Johnson as vice president of global sales and marketing, while the Port of Everett's executive director John Mohr (pictured right) plans to retire in January 2015. Following the establishment of a new branch in Baku, Azerbaijan, Mammoet has also opened an office in Cairo, Egypt, while Global Boat Shipping (GBS) has opened an office in Hamburg that will be headed up by Michael Wirt.


Network news

Argosy Transportation Group Inc. has been appointed as an exclusive member of the Cargo Equipment Experts (CEE) network in Houston, USA, while Ghana's Greenline Logistics has become the latest member to join the Pacific Power Logistics (PPL) network.

In the light of the political situation in Bangkok, the Global Project Logistics Network (GPLN) has relocated its AGM, which is being held from March 16-18, from Bangkok to Hua Hin - 200 km south of the Thai capital.


All about Evie

Evie was in awe of the latest criminal phenomenon to hit the trucking world, whereby thieves conceal themselves in large wooden boxes to gain access to delivery lorries and steal valuable items. She hopes that these thieves will be less successful than the original participants of this "Trojan Horse" method.

Talking of criminal activity, Evie was shocked by this week's news that a senior manager at one of the industry's leading brands has been convicted and jailed for taking secret videos of women.

On a lighter note, Evie was excited to find out that HRH Princess Royal is attending this year's Multimodal 2014 exhibition and is already on the hunt for a new hat.

 

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