Heavylift giants Jumbo Maritime and SAL Heavy Lift aim to jointly market their fleets in the latest phase of industry consolidation.
The European heavylift players are planning a joint venture that will operate a fleet of around 30 specialised vessels equipped to carry the largest of project cargoes.
The proposed marketing platform would, if approved by regulators, create a heavylift market leader by bringing together two of the top three operators in the segment.
Rotterdam-based Jumbo already operates a fleet of 13 heavylift vessels with lifting capacity ranging from 650 to 3,000 tons.
Hamburg-based SAL operates 20 heavylift vessels, 12 of which have crane capacity of more than 900 tons.
Their main competitor is Spliethoff-controlled BigLift.
Their Dutch rival runs around 20 heavylifters after the acquisition of 10 vessels formerly operated by Hansa Heavy Lift in 2019.
Regulatory approval needed
The three heavylift companies operate in a niche segment of the market for outsized cargoes.
For that reason, the prospect of two of the leading companies forming a commercial partnership is subject to regulatory hurdles.
Jumbo and SAL have applied for permission from competition authorities in Germany and Holland in the hope of clearing the way forward for the partnership.
In a statement, the companies cited benefits for customers including “increased flexibility and offering customers worldwide a carefree logistics solution for both breakbulk and outsized cargoes”.
“The Jumbo-SAL alliance would be focused on gaining logistical efficiencies, such as joint fleet operations,” they added.
“Combining a large part of their fleets, engineering and commercial activities serves the goal of sustainable transport capacity and growth.”
History of consolidation
The move marks the latest consolidation steps by Bremen-based Harren & Partner, which acquired SAL from Japan's K Line in July 2017.
The Martin Harren-led company has been a strong driver of consolidation in the multipurpose (MPP) and heavylift sector ever since, forging partnerships in areas where it operates.
In October 2020, SAL acquired a controlling stake in Houston-based MPP operator Intermarine.
The US company is run as a separate division of Hamburg-based SAL's heavylift and project cargo division, with the focus on smaller vessels of between 6,000 dwt and 10,000 dwt with smaller cranes.
