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ASK THE EXPERTS

PES: Welcome to PES magazine. Can you tell us a little about the company and how you serve the wind sector?

Joerg Roehl: HANSA HEAVY LIFT is a market leader and specialised in transporting “heavy” and “super heavy lift” cargoes as well as “project cargo”. We are mainly active in the following markets:

• Wind Energy

• Oil & Gas

• Power Gen

• Mining

• Infrastructure

We serve many reputed clients within all market segments. Using our fully owned fleet of 20 modern, specialised vessels with lifting capacities up to 1,400 tons and an average age of only two years, HANSA HEAVY LIFT guarantees the punctual and safe transportation of cargoes between all ports of the world. All vessels have the Finnish-Swedish Ice Class IA, which allows sailing on the Northeast- and Northwest-Passage.

The demands of our customers, regardless of the market, are very high as a deep technical understanding is requested. We can meet these requirements and expectations as we have the right vessels with outstanding equipment on board and of course we have expert employees within HANSA HEAVY LIFT. With our array of engineering expertise we deliver customised and individual transport solutions for every challenge and every cargo.

Our experts in Cargo Management provide for the comprehensive planning and exact implementation of a transport project. Cargo Superintendents control and monitor

the loading and discharging operations from the start until the port of destination to ensure a smooth operation. Our executive team has more than 20 years of experience in the logistic and maritime industry. There are clear and effective structures and processes to ensure consistent quality within HANSA HEAVY LIFT and modern management processes which ensure high customer satisfaction.

PES: How did the company become involved in the carriage of wind turbines?

JR: Wind-powered energy is among the most significant alternatives energy sources, providing for the generation of electricity in an ecologically viable manner. This form of energy production is clean, renewable and available in considerable volumes. Therefore, it is no surprise that the demand for wind energy has constantly increased in recent years. Indeed, it continues to expand.

Accordingly, the prognosis for the future is quite positive. Because of these developments we are receiving a lot of inquiries from the wind energy industry. Given these opportunities, it is important that our customers in the wind energy industry have a reliable partner like HANSA HEAVY LIFT at their side, guaranteeing the professional transport of their sensitive cargoes. Moreover, we are able to convince our customers with our specially developed Stacking System and the unique characteristics of our vessels. These permit a large volume of wind energy equipment to be carried both on and below deck, an excellent practical feature of our P-Class ships, facilitating the transport of the largest wind turbines in the market.

PES: What’s the state of the wind transportation market at the moment? We’re hearing mixed reports…

A specialist in the transport of heavy-lift, project and break-bulk cargoes across the world’s oceans, HANSA HEAVY LIFT GmbH has been quietly but confidently carving out a reputation in the wind sector. Here, we talk to company CCO, Joerg Roehl.

Equipped to take-on any lifting challenge

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JR: The wind transportation market is a difficult business. There are many firms which have been planning wind parks. They need our modern fleet and our extraordinary crane capacity around the world.

HANSA HEAVY Lift’s business concept as a “Tramper” helps them. HANSA HEAVY LIFT has seen a strong demand for logistics services from the wind energy industry in 2012. In particular, exports from Asia have driven the demand for heavy lift ships in that sector. For this year it is difficult to evaluate the current state of the market, since wind energy market is highly spot-oriented at the moment. We are well positioned to increase.

PES: Are there strategic changes planned for 2013?

JR: We are well positioned for 2013. Since August HANSA HEAVY LIFT has a new CEO, Tomas Dyrbye. He is responsible for the overall performance and development

of HANSA HEAVY LIFT and is head of the management team. Tomas brings with him almost 30 years of experience in the shipping industry with deep expertise in India, Europe and Africa.

In his last assignment as CEO of Safmarine, his achievements included, amongst others, leading the development and growth of the fleet in the multi-purpose segment and successfully focusing the business on serving its customers to the highest possible standards. Before that Tomas was head of Maersk Line Northern Europe, based in Sweden. Earlier assignments included postings to India, Poland and the head office of A.P.Moller - Maersk group. His ambition is to lead this company onto the next level of development after prolonged crises and pave the way for the future as an independent company or create an opportunity to develop a company under a new future ownership.

PES: Can you talk us through the fleet that serves the wind industry, and explain a little about how these vessels are suited to the task?

JR: HANSA HEAVY LIFT is already a market leader in the super heavy lift and heavy lift expected business with lifting capacities up to 1,400 tons and 20 vessels world-wide. The wind energy industry demands vessels with a high intake to load as many entire sets as possible to reduce cost of transportation. It depends highly on the specific cargo characteristics which tonnage suits best for which job.

Smaller windmill jobs are usually performed by less sophisticated tonnage which is less expensive than genuine heavy lift tonnage and not equipped with heavy lift gear. However, 2012 has shown that pure deck space and LOA of the vessel were the most relevant parameters to win certain jobs. Especially in bigger windmill equipment tenders with more than 80 sets involved,

ASK THE EXPERTS

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ASK THE EXPERTS

maximum intake plays an important role as it can save the charterer an additional voyage which logically results in less transportation costs for the charterer. This is what we can provide with our P-type vessels. Also HANSA HEAVY LIFT is using a smart stacking frame for the transport of windmill equipment with the F-class vessels which is the only fleet carrying this type of stacking system.

PES: Does Europe provide the company with strong growth with regard to the wind market?

JR: Europe has been one of the key drivers for wind energy industry in the past. However, recently we have seen a drift with regards to the supply chain of windmill components from Europe to Asia. In fact, this drift creates more relevant heavy lift / break bulk cargo which are carried via sea than the intra-European supply/demand structure.

Nevertheless, Europe will remain as an important exporter of windmill equipment and it will be interesting to see how Europe’s and in particular Germany’s ambitious offshore plans will influence demand for heavy lift tonnage. Further we are eager to understand if there will be a drift in supply chain from Europe to Asia as we have seen it for onshore windmill components. There is clearly no yes or no answer to this question, but we are confident that Europe and especially European wind energy industry will play an important and leading role in future wind energy market.

PES: Are there any ports in Europe that you’re looking to exploit further? Or possibly new routes?

JR: As a tramp shipping company HANSA HEAVY LIFT has no preferred ports in Europe or in any other area of the world. No doubt, commercial wise some areas are more attractive than others. However, the customer is deciding where he needs the cargo and HANSA HEAVY LIFT will try to make everything possible to provide the right vessel at the right port when customers’ demand it. Also our fleet can easily travel along sea routes with an ice thickness of up to 1.0 meters (Ice Class Certification E3 according to the GL Classification corresponds to the Finnish-Swedish Ice Class 1A).

PES: Does Hansa Heavy Lift play an active role in communicating with other stakeholders in the wind industry to facilitate future growth?

JR: The market for windmill equipment has risen significantly compared to 2011. This is mainly due to the solid order book of the key manufacturers e.g. Siemens, Vestas, Acciona, Gamesa, which is being executed this year. In addition, wind energy projects need a long planning and design

phase. Wind energy, will be in strong demand in future, due to the global rising energy demand and global emission reduction plans.

PES: The world is getting smaller, and communication channels are always improving, but heavy lift shipping is a carefully-planned business that takes time. Do you find yourselves under pressure from time-stressed clients?

JR: As in any other industry time is always an important customer criterion. However, in heavy and super heavy lift business safety comes always before time. When handling cargoes of 1000mt and above, it is crucial to take the necessary time to provide sophisticated stowage plans, stability calculations etc. The HANSA HEAVY LIFT team is always happy to accept any challenge from our customers, and our engineers will make every effort to meet customers’ expectations with regards to time but safety comes always first. That’s what we stand for at HANSA HEAVY LIFT.

We have nine exclusive agents in place who are working for us as well as an experienced sales team in our headquarters in Hamburg. Also our experienced teams in our offices in Singapore and Houston are working closely together with our customers. That means our staff around the world are busy in the interests of our customers independent from time differences.

PES: What’s next for HANSA HEAVY LIFT? Do you feel optimistic about the next few years?

JR: HANSA HEAVY LIFT grows. As a market leader, HANSA HEAVY LIFT currently operates 20 heavy-lift vessels and thus presides over the largest fleet in the heavy-lift and project market. The ships of the fleet have an average age of two years, thus correspond to the newest operational and equipment standards.

The on-board crane harnesses have a combined lift capacity up to 1,400 tons and facilitate the loading and discharging of cargoes around the world – independent of the local infrastructure. The relatively large carrying capacity of the ships and the flexibly usable cargo spaces and tween-decks allow even greater volumes to be transported in a price-efficient manner. By virtue of the flexible fleet, highlighted by the ship types P1/P2 and F, HANSA HEAVY LIFT is able to offer their customers truly customised solutions.

HANSA HEAVY LIFT must focus a lot on their customers and develop talented leaders to be ready as the next generation. The standards are already high in all the company does, but important to keep it high and never reduce the ambitions to become the leading heavy lift company in the world.

PES: The company seems to have a strong set of values can you tell us a little about your commitment to the customer and the quality of your work?

JR: An example of our work: MV “HHL HAMBURG” accomplished one of the biggest intra-Asian windmill projects in 2012. This particular project consisted of roughly 90 windmill sets of a European manufacturer and deployed the MV “HHL HAMBURG” almost for the entire year. This project points out that the wind energy industry is a very attractive market for shipping companies like us.

PES: Is there an argument for the ‘containerisation’ of wind power equipment to reduce transportation costs?

JR: HANSA HEAVY LIFT does strongly believe that compared to container vessels, MPP vessels are the better option for transportation of windmill equipment with regards to safety and cost of transportation. The trend shows us clearly that windmill equipment is getting bigger and bigger. Especially offshore equipment comes with blades of 75m length and nacelles of up to 500mt.

The feedback we receive from our customers is strongly positive, when our engineering and cargo management departments stow 12 entire sets of windmills (blades, nacelles, hubs) on a single P2-Type vessel. Moreover, HANSA HEAVY Lift’s engineers are always eager to develop new solutions with our clients to reduce logistics efforts and costs. Therefore, we don’t see how ‘containerisation’ could help our customers.

PES: How important is it to find the right balance of investment to maintain and upgrade your fleet and ensure customer satisfaction while remaining commercially viable?

JR: That’s our business. The senior management team has been developing a good future for our company. HANSA HEAVY LIFT is always eager to develop customer focused solutions. Just today, it is important to create a balance - a balance between the expansion of the fleet and customer services.

www.hansaheavylift.com

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