Moving in on the heavy lift market

With oversupply and low freight rates in virtually every sector of the shipping industry, it is no surprise that roro and container companies have stepped up their efforts to capture more heavy lift, breakbulk and project cargo. In particular, competition has intensified at the ‘lower’ end of the heavy lift market, where ro-ro and container lines are most competitive. But the higher end of the heavy lift sector has also been under pressure, with, for instance, fewer bulk shiploaders/ unloaders ordered in the last few years as port operators have pulled back on their expansion plans following the decline of the commodities sectors.

Specialist carriers are certainly feeling the heat. Prior to the recent bankruptcy of Rickmers Linie, the “background information” on its proposed sale earlier this year noted that the carrier has suffered from the increased competition and experienced heavy losses. “The underlying cause,” it said, “is the acutely competitive overall situation in the global breakbulk, heavy lift and project cargo business, compounded by corresponding overcapacities – not only in the multipurpose carrier area, but also in container vessels, bulk carriers and ro-ro vessels, which, in some cases, are carrying breakbulk, heavy lift and project cargoes when their own capacity utilisation is low.”

A good example was seen in a project towards the end of 2016, when Dutch-based Steder Group, a member of the Worldwide Project Consortium (WWPC), successfully arranged for the shipment of two 70t transformers from China to West Africa, acting in cooperation with its Chinese project specialist, Global Star Logistics (China) Co Ltd. 

The emergency shipment was organised using a regular container service with a direct sailing to the port of discharge.

The transformers were delivered on flatracks to the port of Shanghai by low loaders, and lifted off by both hoists of a ZPMC twin-hoist container crane, using heavyduty sling hooks attached to a ZPMC heavy lift beam fitted directly to the headblocks. The loads were subsequently lifted into the ship using the same technique.

Mix and match

Heavy lift logistics frequently involve transhipment and, increasingly, a mix of specialist bulk and ro-ro/container services. Holleman Bulgaria, members of the WWPC and Cargo Equipment Experts (CEE) networks in Bulgaria, recently started a series of complicated moves to transport three main shafts from Romania to Germany, where they will be loaded to ro-ro vessels for ocean transport. 

The cargo consisted of 2 x 88t and 1 x 67t shafts, and was loaded in Bucharest, Romania for the Port of Ruse, Bulgaria. From there, the heavy pieces were transhipped by a floating crane at Ruse onto a river vessel for further transport to the Bavarian port of Deggendorf. From Deggendorf, the transport will head overland by special trucks to the Port of Bremerhaven, and then on to final destinations in China and Australia on a Wallenius Wilhelmsen ro-ro service. 

Something similar can be seen in North America at the moment, where Bombardier is trucking trains destined for Malaysia from its facility in Kingston, Ontario, to the Port of Baltimore, the leading roro port on the US East Coast. 
Kingston is 290 km from Montreal, while Baltimore is a journey of 750 km by road. 

Höegh Autoliners runs a North America to East Asia service out of Baltimore, where it has its own ‘bridges’ for transferring rail cargo directly from a truck to a roll trailer. This is safer, and much cheaper, than hiring a crane crew to lift the cargo. Höegh Autoliners loaded the first two trains in October, and, after a seven-week journey, they arrived in Malaysia. The company has now launched a dedicated Global Breakbulk and Project Cargo Group to develop its  business in this area.

Ro-ro is not, however, being used for another large rail project, the new Standard Gauge Rail (SGR) system in Kenya, which will link Mombasa to Nairobi for both passengers and freight. 

The locomotives and rolling stock for the SGR are being supplied by China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, and are being shipped to Kenya by Chipol Donghai Shipping Co using its heavy lift fleet. At the port of Mombasa, a temporary track has been laid from a berth to the rail yard, so the equipment can be loaded directly to rail tracks. One growth area in the heavy lift market at the moment is moving cranes, particularly used container cranes. 

 
While it can be difficult to find buyers for used cranes due to the need to match rail gauge, electrical supply and wheel load requirements, equipment on rubber tyres seems to be able to find a home regardless of age. Last year, SAL moved a 30-year old Gottwald mobile harbour crane (MHC) from Amsterdam to Thisvi in Greece on board MV ANNEGRET, which is equipped with two 320t cranes and 1,200t crane. 

Challenging

The job was particularly challenging because the 265t MHC had to be loaded over the starboard side of the vessel, which brought the ship’s cranes almost to the limit of their load curve. SAL also had difficulty getting documentation on the design of the lifting points on the cranes. It had to remove some of the counterweights, and this proved difficult as some of the components that had to be removed first for access had corrosion issues.

When the crane was unloaded in Thisvi, SAL had to boom-up the crane, but, as the moveable counterweight was not connected, the crane could not do this under its own power, so the jib was raised using one of the vessel  cranes.

MHCs were also on the move in February from New Zealand, where Intermarine loaded two 27-yearold Gottwald cranes at the port of Napier. The cranes were loaded for transport to Vietnam on board Intermarine’s INDUSTRIAL  ECHO, one of four 10,000 dwt E-Class vessels, equipped with two 250t onboard cranes. The MHCs were the first the port purchased when it entered the container market in 1990, but they have sat unused (except for training  purposes) for some time. 

Thunder Bay record 

In Canada, the Port of Thunder Bay has reported that project cargo volume hit a 19-year high in 2016, with its Keefer Terminal handling electrical transformers, wind turbine components, mining equipment and machinery for an oriented strand board (OSB) plant.

Keefer Terminal, which is accessible to the Atlantic through the St Lawrence Seaway system, is marketed as the furthest inland terminal serving Western Canada, and a hub for dimensional and heavy lift project cargoes. Currently shut for the winter, the facility is projecting another strong year in 2017, and a cargo of transformers is already confirmed for the spring. 

Thunder Bay competes with Houston as a gateway for project cargo to Canada’s oil sands and gas extraction industries, and there are hopeful signs that this market will see a turnaround in 2017.

Royal Dutch Shell recently announced that, while it plans to cut capital expenditure for the third straight year on a global level, it will increase investment in its oil sands facility at Fox Creek in Alberta. Activity drilling for gas and
other hydrocarbons is picking up significantly in Alberta, Saskatchewan and parts of British Columbia. 

The Port of Thunder Bay is hoping to cash in. Mostly known as a grain port, Thunder Bay’s Keefer Terminal has been developed for breakbulk and project cargo. It offers a 750m berth with rail track within 3m of the dock face.  Thunder Bay is served by both Canadian Class I railroads, CN and CP, with the CN line providing direct access to the oil sands. The line has been upgraded to handle large and heavy project cargo items, and the port has spent C$10M in upgrades to the lay-down area and intermodal yard, and on purchasing a Liebherr LHM320 MHC and 45t forklift.