Effective April 1, 2018, RollDock and SAL Heavy Lift will establish a shipping pool for dock vessels.
In what the companies claim is a world's first, the pool will consist of six geared dock vessels, managed by RollDock and SAL, providing specialised support for ro-ro and flo-flo heavy lift cargoes.
Five of the vessels will come from the existing RollDock fleet, including S and ST class vessels, plus one Combi Dock I ship from SAL Heavy Lift's fleet.
Martin Harren, managing director of SAL, said: "Through a consolidation, we will see a better utilisation of the vessels and because we share our network of offices and agents, we can offer global representation of heavy shipping disciplines."
The pool, according to RollDock ceo Paul Könst, will offer a competitive yet high quality heavy transport service. Justin Archard, commercial director at SAL, added: "SAL wants to keep its place in the ro-ro and flo-flo market, however we also realise that our core service is lift operations. Whenever clients look for heavy transportation - with lifting, rolling or floating services or a combination - our setup offers them a one-stop shop."
Both companies will also continue independently and operate vessels outside the pool.
