March 2 - Intermarine has commenced a heavy lift service between Europe and the Atlantic coast of South America as the line launches two European offices.

Using ships with gear capacity of up to 500 tonnes, the European service has been developed to suit the needs of South America's oil and gas, power generation, mining, and infrastructure development projects. The 10,000 dwt ships are also well suited for wind energy component movements to Europe as they are designed without transverse bulkheads and can accommodate underdeck components up to 74.7m in length.

Meanwhile, Intermarine has opened two representative offices in Europe. Located in Zeist, Holland and Hamburg, Germany, the offices will extend Intermarine's American and Asian capabilities to bring its personalised service to the European market. Staffed with 20 experienced representatives providing sales, chartering, logistics, technical, and documentation services, the offices will support the company's Europe/South America route, provide customised contract carriage and service European clients that are involved in worldwide capital project development.

"Intermarine's commitment to Europe is a significant development for our company," said Andre Grikitis, Intermarine's president and CEO. "We are devoting a combination of significant resources - modern heavylift vessels, extensive infrastructure and a company-wide integration strategy - to ensure that clients of our Zeist and Hamburg offices receive the responsiveness and continuity the trade has come to expect from Intermarine."