The Friday Flyer - May 31st 2013

Production is set to start later this year and delivery slated for H1 2015. Each vessel will cost USD18.5 million.??Does this deal show courage or foolhardiness on the part of the new owners? Without knowing the identity of the German client, we cannot know if this is a line or charter company banking on improving freight rates and bullish demand for breakbulk cargo in three years to boost their fleet to pick up new business. It might, however, simply be replacing age-expired capacity, creating no net increase in capacity.

When executives inked the deal, they were making an USD80 million punt on the future of the German shipping industry, itself no stranger to unsettled waters lately. When they reveal themselves, as they are bound to in the coming months, HLPFI will be able to report on their plans for this new capacity. Watch this space.

This week's Friday Flyer is sponsored by Crowley Solutions, a project management organization that offers turn-key solutions for clients with marine infrastructure, offshore construction and marine cargo and logistics projects. Crowley provides project management, marine engineering, heavy lift barge transportation, ocean towing, marine project logistics, DP2 tugs to 150MT and barges to 400' x 130'.

In the corporate world
Breakbulk South America 2013 will take place at São Paulo, Brazil in September and is set to zero in on important topics for the logistics community.

TT Club and Exis Technologies have come together to develop CTUpack e-learning, an online training tool for container loading and unloading operators to combat soaring insurance claims from cargo loss or damage, often caused by poor packing.  

Good results for Subsea 7 as it released Q1 2013 results, ending March 31: revenues static at USD1.467 billion, 0.6 percent up year-on-year on Q1 2012. Net income, however, surged 41.6 percent in Q1 2013 to USD132 million.

Mangrove Holdings has rejected an offer made by joint venture partner ASCO Holdings for the shares it holds in ASCO Freight Management (ASCO Singapore) and says it has made a counter offer to acquire ASCO Holdings' majority share.

Capacity developments
Heavyweight Air Express has added Etihad Cargo to its Brazilian client base now the carrier has launched its first-ever direct flight to South America, a service to Sao Paulo.??A.R.T. Logistics has launched a new multimodal freight forwarding service connecting Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Thailand with Central Asia.??A second Liebherr mobile harbour crane has entered service at Niedersachsenkai Brake seaport terminal, Germany (pictured top right).??Subsea 7 has inked a contract for a new heavy construction vessel, set for delivery in 2016.

Network news
Transmarine Services India has become the newest member of the Project Partners network.??The Project Professionals Group (PPG) has closed its annual conference in Le Havre, France with presentations from members, who later voted to stage the next conference in Las Vegas, USA in co-operation with the American Wind Energy Association Windpower Conference and Exhibition.??It's a full house in Vietnam for Project Cargo Network (PCN) as it signs Minh Long International Transportation as its third and final representative in the country.

All about Evie
Evie may reside in London but her heart has never left her homeland. So when HLPFI booked its tickets for next week's transport logistic fair in Munich, Evie could not contain her excitement as she was determined to accompany the team to her favourite Bavarian city.

The happy hours she spent enjoying the city's famous mix of beer and sausages while at the Hofbrauhaus before walking in the English Garden will be history as she strides the halls at transport logistic 2013, meeting, greeting and on the scent of gossip. ?HLPFI staff would love to meet friends old and new should they be planning to attend the event. To make arrangements and set up appointments, contact ian@heavyliftpfi.com.