June 16 - Meriaura Group's ship management arm VG Shipping has acquired the 4,000 dwt multipurpose vessel Lehmann Bay, which it has renamed Martta VG.
The vessel, which was previously owned by Reederei Lehmann, has an overall length of 89.8 m and is strengthened for the carriage of heavy cargo. It will now fly the Finnish flag and has been time chartered by Meriaura on a long-term agreement.
Elsewhere in the group, Meriaura's largest multipurpose ro-ro vessel, Polaris VG, has begun transporting oversized monopiles to offshore wind farm construction sites in the North Sea, as part of a long-term contract that kicked off on June 1. The project is scheduled for completion in the autumn.
Meriaura has seen about a 30 percent increase in turnover for the first half of 2015, compared with the same period in 2014, despite a very volatile market.
Beppe Rosin, vice managing director of Meriaura, said in a statement: "Although the market is still tough, it seems that the demand for sea transports of heavy projects is slowly recovering."
HLPFI reported yesterday, June 15, that Meriaura's open deck carrier Meri had transported three rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes from Finland to the new Russian port of Bronka.
Lehmann Bay, which has been renamed Martta VG.
