SAL Heavy Lift and Intermarine, two of the most recognized names in the heavy lift shipping arena, are coming together to create a yet unrivalled shipping setup within the Americas and for cross-Atlantic trade. Operating as an independent brand within the SAL Heavy Lift Group, Intermarine will tie its Americas liner service to SAL’s global heavy lift trade and in combination bring to market the most comprehensive maritime breakbulk and heavy lift solution in the Americas.

The Churchill dock, located in the middle of the harbor, will become a fully-fledged ‘Breakbulk dock’. To the south of this dock, a water-bound concession will be released, whereby Port of Antwerp has resolutely opted to develop general cargo activities there. With this, the port shows that despite the pressure on this segment due to global trade problems and the corona crisis, breakbulk remains an absolute priority and that it wants to continue to support this.

Multimodal accessible

The area around the Churchill dock has historically grown into one of the most important places for breakbulk terminals in the port. The concession in question, located in the middle of existing breakbulk activities, is 15 hectares in size and has multimodal access with immediate access to the European road, rail and inland shipping network. As a result, breakbulk goods find their way quickly and reliably from the European production and consumption centers to all corners of the world and vice versa.

Synergies between logistics players

Numerous logistics players offer various services with a high added value tailored to the customer at this location. There are, for example, service providers for the handling, assembly, quality control, packaging and storage of general cargo. This wide range of added-value services ensures that the goods are processed according to the wishes of the end customer without a lot of excess transport and handling costs.

Antwerp, home port for general cargo

The shipping of break bulk, such as steel, project cargo and forest products, requires a product-specific approach: no shipment is identical. Thanks to the “can do” mentality and the extensive experience of the many service providers, the port of Antwerp can ship almost 9 million tons of conventional general cargo with an eye for quality every year.

Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO Port of Antwerp: “Antwerp has been the breakbulk port par excellence in Europe for many centuries. As a result, all the quality, experience and flexibility is in house to provide tailor-made solutions for the customer. Breakbulk generates a high added value in the portfolio of our port, so it is crucial that we continue to promote these goods. ”

Port ships Annick De Ridder: “Breakbulk is in the DNA of the port of Antwerp and remains an absolute priority. Despite trade troubles and the economic slowdown, breakbulk remains one of our six commercial pillars. The transhipment and production of breakbulk continues unabated, thanks to the efforts that our breakbulk community is making to put our port on the map as a strong brand in terms of quality, experience and flexibility. I cannot emphasize enough that I am extremely grateful to them, they make Port of Antwerp the home of breakbulk. ”

New shuttle tankers are being built with pump solutions from Hamworthy Pumps, which aims to regain its position among the leading suppliers of pump room systems. This will be done in a new powerful alliance with Hoyer Motors as supplier of electrical drive systems.

In Singapore, Hamworthy Pumps is back on its feet as an independent brand following a change of ownership. As part of an ambitious growth plan, the company has embarked on a comeback within pump room systems for tankers, where it was one of the leading suppliers to this market for decades.

Resently the new strategy has resulted in orders for pump room systems for three large tankers, with an option for a fourth. Two of the ships – both Aframax-size crude oil tankers – are being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries for the Finnish oil refiner Neste. The third – a 152,000 DWT DP2 shuttle tanker – is being built at COSCO Zhoushan Shipyard for Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers of Norway.

“We have a strong ambition to gain market share in pump room systems. Neste and Knutsen are crucial references for us in that context. We continuously develop our solutions in close co-operation with end-users, ship designers and strategically selected vendors. With these orders, we send the message that we have the expertise and the setup to deliver the customized pumping solutions that the market demands”, says Terje Bjornemo, Director, Pump Room Systems at Hamworthy Pumps.

Expanded facilities and water cooled motors

The orders for pump room systems for the three shuttle tankers have all been won in a new powerful alliance with Hoyer Motors as the subcontractor for electrical drive systems. The Danish electric motor specialist has many years of experience from the marine industry and will be a strategically important partner for Hamworthy Pumps’ re-entry to the tanker market.

“In recent years, we have strengthened our capability to serve the marine industry including expanded facilities in China and a new range of ATEX and IECEx certified, explosion proof marine motors. For these specific tankers we developed special water cooled motors to meet the PRS requirements and will continue to invest in R&D as we strongly believe in the tanker market potential,” says Henrik Sørensen, CEO, Hoyer Group.

The collaboration between Hamworthy Pumps and Hoyer Motors is further strengthened by the fact that both companies are in the process of significantly upgrading on service and aftersales. Last year, Hamworthy Pumps opened a large service centre in Singapore together with its sister company Svanehøj, and it is currently rolling out a new global service provider concept. Hoyer Motors has taken active steps into the aftermarket and is represented via selected partners in Houston, Rotterdam, Singapore and Shanghai, among others.