SAL Heavy Lift is expanding its deck carrier fleet with the acquisition of Sun Shine and Sun Rise from former owner Pan Ocean.
The semi-submersible deck carriers are scheduled for delivery in Europe between October 2025 and April 2026 and will be commercially operated as part of the JSI Alliance.
SAL Heavy Lift has prior experience with the vessels. In 2017, HLPFI reported that Pan Ocean appointed the company as commercial agent for the two semi-submersibles.
The 17,113-dwt Sun Shine was built in 2008 and has a deck size of 148 m x 48 m, while Sun Rise was built in 2012, has a deadweight of 24,629 tonnes and a deck size of 134 m x 44 m. Following the takeover, the ships will be renamed Luisa (Sun Shine) and Alma (Sun Rise).
These additions follow SAL Heavy Lift’s successful long-term charter of the semi-submersible deck carriers Zhong Ren 121 and Zhong Ren 122 in 2023. With the new acquisitions, SAL Heavy Lift is doubling its capacity in this specialised segment.
“We’ve listened closely to our clients during the operation of the Zhong Ren vessels and recognised a growing demand for additional tonnage and greater operational flexibility,” said Matthieu Moerman, director renewables and offshore at the JSI Alliance. “With four vessels now in this segment, we can offer our clients even more robust services and tailored solutions for large-scale and complex projects. Notably, Sun Shine is among the few deck carriers worldwide built outside China, giving us greater flexibility regarding tariffs and trade regulations.”
Martin Harren, ceo of Harren Group and SAL Heavy Lift, elaborated: “These two vessels are of significant importance to our group. They enable us to broaden our service spectrum – from smaller multipurpose vessels with lifting capacities of 300 tonnes and 7,700 dwt to large semi-submersible deck carriers with almost 25,000 dwt. This puts us in a position to cover the entire scope of the multipurpose and heavy lift sector and to provide our clients with the right tonnage from the most capable fleet in the world.”
To meet the growing demand in this highly specialised market, SAL Heavy Lift is also expanding its sales, engineering, and operations teams in Hamburg, Rotterdam, and Singapore. Meanwhile, the company added the multipurpose vessel, Svend, to its fleet earlier this month.
