This week's round up of news from the world of heavy lift and project forwarding.

Project forwarders will be licking their lips at the news that over USD48 trillion of investment will be required up until 2035 if we are to meet the world's growing need for energy, according to a report released by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The report suggests that today's annual investment in energy supply of USD1.6 trillion must rise steadily over the coming decades towards USD2 trillion to cope with rising demand, while annual spending on energy efficiency also needs to grow from the current USD130 billion to more than USD550 billion by 2035.

With an increasing need for equipment and infrastructure to meet this demand, the next 20 years look promising for those forwarders involved in the power generation industry.

This week's Friday Flyer is sponsored by Liebherr Maritime Cranes, which offers a perfectly balanced portfolio of innovative heavy lift solutions. The state-of-the-art mobile harbour crane range has a maximum lifting capacity of up to 208 tonnes and even up to 416 tonnes in tandem operation. Liebherr's heavy-duty deck cranes provide lifting capacities of up to 450 tonnes.


In the corporate world

Universal Transport acquired the majority interest in heavy transport specialist Messingschlager, with retroactive effect from January 1, 2014.

The EU approved the P3 alliance planned by AP Moller-Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM, and the G6 alliance made up of Hapag-Lloyd, APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Mitsui OSK Lines, NYK and OOCL.

Volga-Dnepr Airlines saw a strong increase in shipments for the aerospace industry, with 22 flights moving space satellites over a 12-week period ending May 2014.

The ITIC emphasised the need for marine surveyors and other shipping and transport intermediaries to include their terms and conditions in all business dealings.


Capacity developments

Atlantic Container Line (ACL) confirmed that Liverpool will remain as the UK port of call for its new fleet of container/ro-ro vessels.

ABA Crane Hire took delivery of its first Terex crane - a 60-tonne capacity Challenger 3180 (pictured top right), while Deep South Crane & Rigging added a 400-tonne capacity Terex CC 2400-1 and a 1,600-tonne capacity CC 8800-1 to its fleet.

ALE unveiled its Mega Jack 800 (pictured bottom right), designed to provide a unique jacking solution.

Saudia Cargo will resume its B747 freighter services from Houston to Saudi Arabia as of June 15, 2014.

Atlantic Ro-Ro Carriers (ARRC) added the 32,000 dwt general cargo vessel Antonio to its fleet.

Panama based Salerno Heavy Lift invested in Goldhofer's THP/SL 6 split-combination module.


Shipments of the week

BigLift's Happy Buccaneer (pictured top right) has transported a 1,220-tonne shiploader from Mokpo, South Korea to Australia to be installed on the new HPX3 coal loading berth at Hay Point.

SCS Heavy disassembled two presses - one in Henriville, France and another one in Renchen, Germany - before crating and transporting both to Dublin, Georgia, via the port of Savannah.

Austrian crane and heavy load contractor Felbermayr erected a steel skeleton for a new hangar at Schwechat Airport in Vienna using five Liebherr mobile cranes (pictured second right).

Almajdouie Logistics transported a 5,736.8-tonne evaporator (pictured bottom right) to the Yanbu 3 Desalination Project in Saudi Arabia, claiming the unit is the heaviest of its kind in the world.

Other notable projects reported by HLPFI this week can be seen on the archive news area of our website.

Got some shipment news of your own? Send it in to editorial@heavyliftpfi.com


Capital projects and contracts

A bidding consortium consisting of STRABAG and Salini Impregilo was awarded a USD517.86million contract for the construction of the Brenner Base Tunnel in Austria.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will lend USD365.23 million to Poland's national rail operator, PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, for the upgrade of a 58 km railway line between Katowice and Kraków.

Siemens Energy won a contract to supply eight 3MW wind turbines for a community wind power plant Klixbüll in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

For a fuller round up of capital projects and contracts announced this week please visit the HLPFI website or contact David Kershaw.


On the move

On July 1, Robert Sappio (pictured right) will step down as president and ceo of Rickmers-Linie (America) and be replaced by Waldemar (Val) Poulsen. Two of Hull Blyth SA's subsidiary companies also made some management changes, with Natasha Vaughan rejoining Kestrel Maritime as general manager, and Fiona Calitz, managing director of Mainport Africa Shipping, assuming responsibility for the company's business development. Hill Dickinson strengthened its presence in the Asian shipping market with the appointment of Chris Edwards to its Singapore office and Anthony Woo to the company's Hong Kong operation. 12hoist4u opened an office in Norway - its first office outside of the Netherlands. Move One is set to open an office in Amman, Jordan, while PD Ports opened a project and commercial office in Newton Aycliffe, UK.


Network news

The Cargo Equipment Experts (CEE) network appointed Team Lifting Company as a member in Saudi Arabia, while Holleman Ukraine SSL joined the Global Project Logistics Network (GPLN). The Project Partners network enlisted Farcont Kiev as a new member in Ukraine, while the XLProjects (XLP) network gained Arnaud-Logis in Angola and Mozambique. A delegation of Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA) members and staff visited three US states to discuss issues concerning permits for oversize and overweight transports.


All about Evie

Evie was bemused to find a giant octopus strapped to the back of a lorry on central London's roads this week.

The polystyrene cephalopod was transported through the UK capital before coming to a standstill at Oxford Circus and causing mayhem for the city's traffic and bewilderment for passers-by.

The octopus is believed to be promotional material for the FIFA World Cup, after animal oracle Paul the German octopus attracted worldwide acclaim for his accurate predictions in the 2010 tournament.

Evie is looking forward to what other spectacles might be in store for her in the run-up to the international sporting event.

She is particularly excited to take part in Allseas Global Logistics' World Cup results predictions competition, and suggests you also have a go at winning a prize here.