Meriaura has signed five time charter agreements that will see a deck cargo carrier, two multipurpose vessels and two dry bulk ships join its fleet.
According to Meriaura, the deck cargo carrier, Enough Talk, increases its flexibility and capacity to handle project cargo shipments in Northern Europe and allows other vessels to be designated to longer-term projects.
Beppe Rosin, managing director of Meriaura, explained: “The utilisation rate of our current deck-carriers has been very high and thus we have had limited possibilities to enlarge our customer base. With more vessels in the fleet we will also be able to perform longer voyages, without ruining the schedules for our frequent shippers.”
The multipurpose tweendeck vessels joining Meriaura’s fleet – Antonia and Antje – are also capable of handling project cargo shipments. Both are equipped with two heavy-duty cranes that can lift units weighing up to 160 tons (145.2 tonnes).
According to Rosin, they will be partly deployed on Meriaura’s regular dry bulk trade, but will also be available for project shipments. Due to the length of the vessels, they are capable of transporting wind turbine components, including blades.
“With these multipurpose vessels we seek the efficiency and ability to combine bulk and project shipments in the Baltic and the North Sea.” said Rosin.
He added that the company has also increased the number of personnel in the project department, including the appointment of Ville Hallisto as chartering manager in November 2018; Ville Laurila as supercargo; and Toni Karppinen as project manager. Jessica Saari continues to lead the team as head of projects.
The multipurpose vessels and dry bulk carriers have already joined the company’s fleet. The deck cargo carrier Enough Talk is scheduled to start operations in February 2019.
