United Heavy Lift (UHL) is poised to nearly double its fleet of eco-multipurpose ships to 17 vessels.
The Hamburg-based company is in talks to gain commercial control of the remaining eight newbuildings in a series of multipurpose (MPP) ships that were previously destined for insolvent German operator Zeamarine.
UHL took over the first nine in the series of 14,000-dwt vessels in January.
The company chartered the ships — delivered from yards in 2018 and 2019 — on 36-month contracts.
Rates are reported to be around $13,000 per day.
If talks with Chinese lessors are successful, UHL will extend that by taking over a further eight in the series.
“We’re working on it. We’re pretty close,” chief executive Lars Bonnesen said.
The last of the eight Ecolift F-900 vessels are being built at Chinese yards for delivery in 2021.
They are under construction at China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) and Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard.
“The home for these ships is with us,” Bonnesen said. “Everybody is aware of that.”
Taking on tonnage
UHL is not fazed by the prospect of taking on more tonnage at a time the MPP market has nosedived.
Rates for traditional 14,000-dwt MPP vessels are down to $6,381 per day in June, from a plateau of $7,400 for the past year, according to the Toepfer Multipurpose Index (TMI).
His company is redelivering two vessels — the 12,500-dwt ice-class Tin Ziren (built 2015) and Timgad (built 2016) — to Algerian shipping company Cnan.
Bonnesen remains optimistic about more cargoes coming into the market.
He expects there to be a need for modern MPP vessels towards the end of this year and that 2021 and 2022 will be positive for the sector.
"At the moment everything is terrible, but I certainly see improvement," he said.
One positive sign is a big backlog of projects in the mining sector and especially offshore wind projects, Bonnesen said.
That could push up demand for the F900's, which have greater lifting capacity than comparable designs, with two 450-ton cranes with a combined crane capacity of 900 metric tonnes.
The first nine vessels remain employed on BHP's South Flank iron ore project, shipping cargoes to Port Hedland in far northern Western Australia.
Hammonia Reederei will provide technical management for the ships, which are understood to have been ordered on the back of financing from China's CSSC Leasing.
Optimism
That optimism led UHL to expand its global network. It has recently open offices in Japan, Malaysia, Norway and the US.
This month, it established a new partnership in Turkey and there are plans to open a new representation in the Middle East.
Many of its offices have been established in partnership with former Zeamarine staff.
That includes one in Istanbul, where UHL has nominated Duo Shipping — headed by Daghan Engin — as the exclusive commercial agent in Turkey.
The Turkish office will help source cargoes for UHL's services into West and East Africa from the Mediterranean and Europe.
A joint sailing agreement with Spanish company Marguisa from the Mediterranean and Europe to West Africa will also be expanded into East Africa.
Own money
UHL has grown rapidly in the wake of the Zeamarine insolvency in February.
But Bonnesen said that the partners of UHL remain very cautious because they had invested their own money into the company.
"We don’t set up the big fancy offices," he said. "We have small command posts around the world, which are inexpensive and the people there having a stake in it."
Bonnesen, who joined as managing director of UHL in April 2019, expects the commercially managed fleet to continue to grow.
He said the company was in talks to take on additional vessels from potential partners.
"On the tonnage side, there will be a lot of ships coming into the market because of banks having to get them off their books and place them somewhere," he said.
