German Heavy Lift Freight Specialist Bought Out

GERMANY – Bremen-based ship management company Harren & Partner (H&P) and Japanese shipping group K Line, have reached an agreement for the German company to acquire fellow national carrier SAL Heavy Lift on 27 July 2017. H&P state that they intend for SAL, with its available fleet of suitable vessels to become the new dominant player in the super heavy lift freight segment. 

SAL Heavy Lift specialises in the ocean transport of heavy lift and project cargo whilst its offshore subsidiary, SAL Offshore, develops and supplies installation solutions for the oil & gas and renewables sectors. Part of the K Line Group since 2011, SAL has access to a highly flexible fleet of 15 heavy lift vessels and a worldwide network with offices and agencies in 25 countries. Dr. Martin Harren, Managing Director of Harren & Partner, said:

“I am very proud and pleased that we have reached the agreement with K Line. This is another milestone in Harren & Partner’s history. SAL is an eminently respectable company with experienced employees and long-term customer relationships which stands for innovation, quality and technical expertise. We believe that this acquisition will ensure that both SAL and Harren & Partner are very well-positioned for the future. In becoming the new dominant player in the super heavy lift market, we believe this will add strength to SAL and bring with it some much needed pricing discipline.”

H&P now own two heavy lift companies, Hamburg headquartered SAL and Combi Lift based in neighbouring Bremen which between them have a fleet of 26 heavy lift vessels, from multipurpose vessels (300 tonne crane capacity) and dock ships, to offshore construction vessels with DP2 dynamic positioning systems and a combined crane capacity of up to 2,000 tonnes. Heiko Felderhoff, CEO of Combi Lift, explains:

“We at Combi Lift are also very glad that the acquisition was made possible. Combi Lift will increasingly focus on demanding logistics challenges beyond the day-to-day business, just like the Gazprom Amur GPP Project in Russia, as well as special offshore, decommissioning and salvage projects. SAL and Combi Lift will complement each other in their abilities and share their know-how and expertise.”