New vessels to enter specialist project fleet

Alan Peat THE SPECIALIST project market is growing significantly, according to Peter Evans of Mainport Africa, representatives in Southern Africa for the German-based project vessel owners, Beluga Shipping. “We are already quoting well into next year for projects and the climate has remained strong for southern African project moves. “New project landside logistics players have emerged through amalgamation and joint-ventures and the traditional clearing and forwarding project divisions remain buoyant.” Evans sees more shippers working with the line up-front on projects. “This is crucial to dotting the i’s and pre-empting potential problem areas.” There can no longer be presumptions about “the shipping just happening”, he added. “There are breakbulk liner services from SA to only a very few destinations,” Evans said, “and even these have limited lifting capacities. “The era of the specialist project vessel is at hand.” His German principals, Beluga Shipping, are proof of this growth market, according to Evans. “They are grasping the opportunity and have won the reputation as one of the market leaders in this arena.” The line’s vessels (the Independence, Inspiration and Satisfaction) have all called in SA ports in recent months and they continue to work closely with heavy lift shippers in this country, Evans added. The line has conducted “an aggressive approach to fleet enhancement”, according to Beluga m.d. Niels Stolberg. “We are projecting exciting growth for Beluga,” he said. This, Stolberg added, was reflected by the specialist project vessel company “powering into the future” with 500-metric ton lifting capacity vessels. “We’ve contracted a further four newbuildings,” he told FTW, “which makes 12 vessels under construction for Beluga with Volharding Shipyards both in Romania and the Netherlands.” This year will see the first two newbuildings in the Beluga S class completed, with the four R Class vessels - all heavy-lift, with a maximum lifting capacity of 500-mt - scheduled to be completed in 2004.