Leif Hoegh News

Leif Hoegh & Co. Ltd., a primary insider of Hoegh LNG Holdings Ltd., purchased 67,060 common shares in Hoegh LNG Holdings on 15 March for a price of NOK 91.50 per share.   Following the transaction, Leif Hoegh & Co. holds a total of 31,933,849 shares in Hoegh LNG, representing 41.56 pct of outstanding shares, and 287,500 common units in Hoegh LNG Partners LP ("HMLP"). Leif Hoegh & Co is indirectly controlled by Leif O. Hoegh and by a family trust under which Morten W. Hoegh is the primary beneficiary and is represented on the Board of Directors of the Company by Morten W. Hoegh (Chairman) and Leif O. Hoegh (Deputy Chairman) due to its ownership stake in Hoegh LNG.   Reporting By Ole Petter Skonnord

Greek firefighters extinguished a fire aboard the U.S.-flagged car and truck transport ship Alliance Norfolk early today while it was anchored in the Port of Piraeus, the Greek Coast Guard said. The operation involved two fire-fighting boats, 30 firefighters, a unit of the Greek Emergency Rescue Squad and a coast guard rescue boat, the coast guard said on its website. The crew of 23, all foreign nationals, and five passengers are all safe and unhurt; one injured fireman was treated in hospital, according to the statement. No indication of damage was given. The ship belongs to Hoegh Autoliners AS, a unit of Oslo- based Leif Hoegh & Co., according to the company’s website. The ship was destined for Saudi Arabia and had docked at Piraeus for an insurance inspection.

The reefer market has proved successful for A&P Falmouth throughout recent months with a total of six bookings for reefer ships from two separate owners. Falmouth is ideally located for the reefer trades on the ballast route from Northern Europe to loading ports in South Africa, Canary Islands and the Caribbean. Amer Shipping's 13,312 grt vessel the Amer Choapa was the first to enter the shipyard during July. Work completed during the 9 day docking included blasting and painting, steelwork repairs, hatch cover repairs, main engine survey and overhauls to the rudder and tailshaft. Following the successful completion of the Amer Choapa, the 9,070 grt Amer Whitney arrived during early August for similar works covering a 10-day period.

HUAL AS was named as a General Motors Supplier of the Year for its overall business performance in providing GM with parts and services. The award was given during ceremonies Saturday, April 3 in Prague at the Hilton Prague Hotel's Congress Hall. "HUAL is representative of the type of company we want to grow with as we drive to be the best worldwide," said Bo Andersson, vice president, GM Worldwide Purchasing Production Control & Logistics. "The company has a balanced focus on performance and behaviour that supports GM's priorities. "HUAL is very honoured to have been selected by GM as 2003 Supplier of the Year for Ocean Carrier Services, " said Karl A. Terjesen, HUAL's president. "Receiving this important and prestigious award from the world's No.

Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Sperry Marine business unit has supplied the navigation and communication electronics for a new highly specialized ship that has been designed specifically to convey giant components for Airbus’ next-generation A-380 aircraft. The new ship, christened Ville de Bordeaux, was built in China’s Jinling shipyard and is being delivered to French shipowner Louis-Dreyfus Armateurs this month. The vessel will fly the French flag and will shuttle among the various Airbus plants in Europe delivering aircraft parts. For safe navigation, the ship has been fitted with a complete Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine integrated bridge system…

Leif Hoegh and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, have entered an agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., for the construction of a 145,000 cubic meter LNG carrier. An agreement was also made with Statoil on behalf of the Snoehvit field partners (excluding TotalfinaElf and Gaz de France) for the chartering of the vessel for 20 years plus two 5- year options. The vessel specification is high both for operation in North Atlantic waters and to meet strict safety and environmental requirements. The vessel will primarily be employed for the transportation of LNG under gas sales agreements entered into with El Paso in the U.S. and Iberdrola in Spain. The vessel is expected to be operated by Leif Hoegh Ltd., and as the bareboat charter it will be financed through a U.K. lease.

A U.S. oil majors' Internet tanker venture is merging with a shipping dot-com in a bid to become the first live online chartering exchange for the industry. SeaLogistics, which is backed by five oil groups, is merging with OneSea Direct, which has several major shipowner investors, to combine their efforts in web-based tanker chartering, the two companies said. SeaLogistics currently involves U.S. oil companies Texaco, Chevron, Koch Industries, L.G. Caltex and Coastal Corp. OneSea includes support from leading shipping companies such as A.P. Moeller, Bergesen, Teekay, I.M. Skaugen, OMI Corp., Osprey, Leif Hoegh, Worldwide, Acomarit, and V.Ships.

J. Lauritzen bought Cool Carriers AB for $35.4 million from Norwegian shipping group Leif Hoegh & Co. ASA, a step in consolidation of the reefer vessel market. "The acquisition will be financed through a capital injection of 215 million crowns ($25.5 million) from the parent company J. Lauritzen Holding," it said. Reefer vessels are equipped with refrigeration facilities to transport perishable foodstuffs. The takeover of the Swedish-based group, effective January 1, 2001, would create the world's leading specialized reefer vessel operator in a new company to be named Lauritzen Cool AB, it said. "With the establishment of Lauritzen Cool the first step towards the long sought-for consolidation of the global reefer market has now been taken," it said.

Norwegian shipping group Leif Hoegh said its improvement in operating profit - from $56.6 million from $22.9 million the previous year - was largely a result of investments in Hoegh Ugland Auto Liners (HUAL) and contract shipping in the form of gas and dry bulk and reefer vessels. "LHC expects global growth in 2001, which at the outset will dampen the demand growth in several segments in which LHC is involved," it said.

Globalization of shipping will be the theme of the 11th annual Hellenic-American and Norwegian-American annual conference. Entitled “Shipping without Borders: Has National Identity Become Irrelevant?”, the conference will be held on Thursday, February 10th at the New York Helmsley Hotel starting at 0815 with conference registration.. The conference will explore developments and shifts in the international maritime community, and how they relate to doing business in America. Comparative Greek and Norwegian perspectives on identity…

Sweden’s TTS Ships Equipment AB, Gothenburg, part of Norway’s TTS Marine ASA has landed two contracts for delivery of ships equipment for a total of four car carriers. This confirms TTS’ leading position in the supply of cargo access equipment to the car carrier newbuilding industry. The contract with South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in Korea (Leif Hoegh A/S) and Croatia’s Uljanik Ship Yard, Pula (Ray Shipping) involves deliveries to two car carriers each. The deliveries include construction and supply of key components to the RoRo access systems including internal car decks and ramps, as well as stern ramps for the loading and discharge of vehicles. The delivery of the equipment is scheduled for the end of 2007.

While the Chinese automotive sector is experiencing double-digit growth, Chinese finished vehicle exporters are facing stiff competition and ongoing logistics challenges in getting their products to foreign markets because of a lack of RoRo ships, according to a report on http://www.cargonewsasia.com. Zhang Xiaoyu, vice-chairman of the China Machinery Industry Federation said that while the number of China's vehicle exports has increased sharply, many of these cars lay in transit at ports because shipping companies simply do not have enough vessels to transport them. According to China Custom's figures, the mainland exported a total of 340,000 cars in 2006 - double that exported in 2005.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., has won three orders worth a combined $600m to build six ships for three companies in Russia, Africa and Europe. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering will construct two crude oil carriers for Sovcomflot Group, Russia's largest shipping company, two tankers for a company in Liberia and two car carriers for Leif Hoegh & Co., a Norwegian shipper. The ships will be delivered to the companies by January 2011. Source: Business in Asia Today

Norwegian shipping group Leif Hoegh forecast higher operating profit in 2001, helped by a larger RoRo vehicle transport fleet, after a smaller-than-expected 59 percent jump in the first quarter. "After a slow start to the year for the Ro/Ro and reefer segments, the markets picked up in March, a trend which has continued into the second quarter," the company said. "The operating profit, excluding sales gain or loss, is expected to increase from last year through (the) larger RoRo fleet, the Hoegh Galleon charterparty and the transfer of the liner service," it said. It added that bunker prices, foreign exchange movements and interest rates would all affect the company's results.

Finnish design specialist Deltamarin is synonymous with advanced cruise ship design and construction. The company, as has many of its colleagues in this country, have built a formidible empire of accrued cruise shipbuilding knowledge and experience which it has used to remain a key player in the international cruise market. But as the cruise industry stumbles, so too do the myriad of companies which serve it. While an extended downturn is not generally forecast, Deltamarin must find new business to keep its 320 employees busy and its sales at or near its 2001 mark of nearly $26 million. To do this, it has trained its sites on expanding both regionally and by vessel niches served…

Leif Hoegh & Co. ASA announced plans to buy the remaining 50 percent of reefer operator Unicool, in which it already holds a 49.8 percent stake. Final negotiations for the deal re expected to take place next week. The price of the deal is to remain confidential, officials said. Unicool is the world's biggest operator of refrigerated ships and has 68 vessels.

While Norway's Leif Hoegh reported a net loss for the first nine months of the year, it projects a break-even 1999. The firm reported a net loss of 37 million crowns against a 327 million profit in 1998. It said it had a pre-tax loss of 72 million crowns in January to September against a profit of 347 million in the same period of 1998. The company said that its results were depressed mainly by losses on the sale of shares in shipping firm Bona. Operating profits stayed in the black, declining to 264 million crowns from 491 million.

Leif Hoegh & Co., who owns 49.8 percent of Unicool, has signed an agreement to purchase the 50 percent shareholding in the company owned by South African Marine Corp., effective early January 2000. Unicool, through its two subsidiaries Cool Carriers and Arctic Reefers, is a worldwide operator of reefers with a fleet of 68 vessels, of which Unicool owns 16.

Norway's Leif Hoegh said that Unicool -- its fully owned unit -- sold three reefers for a total of just over $27 million. The sales prices was close to the book value, Leif Hoegh said in a statement to the Oslo bourse. It said Unicool had sold the vessels Baltic Spirit, built in 1986, Lincoln Spirit, built in 1987 and Tasman Spirit from 1988.

Norwegian shipping company Leif Hoegh forecast higher operating profits in 2000. The company reported an operating profit of $23.2 million in 1999, down from $70.97 million in 1998. It said that profits would be lifted by the consolidation of the Hual car carrier division into its accounts, by its reefer unit Unicool, as well as by improvements in other areas. The company also said that it was proposing a 450 million crowns capital expansion, linked to its purchase of a 50 percent stake in Hual from Ugland International. Leif Hoegh is paying $390 million for the stake, making it the sole owner.

Norwegian shipping group Leif Hoegh & Co. last Wednesday forecast continued gains in operating profits in 2000 after a leap in the first quarter. Operating profits rose to $16.79 million in the three months to March 31 from $9.26 million in the same period of 1999. Leif Hoegh swung to a net profit of $6.22 million from a loss of $41.53 million.

Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit has received an order from Jinling Shipyard, Nanjing, to supply navigation and communication systems for a new RoRo vessel being built for a joint venture of French shipowner Louis-Dreyfus Armateurs and Norwegian shipowner Leif Hoegh. Sperry Marine will supply a full integrated bridge system including electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS), dual interswitched BridgeMaster E radars, dual fiber-optic gyrocompasses, autopilot, dual-axis Doppler speed log, echosounder, DGPS receivers and GMDSS A3 communication station. All consoles will have high-resolution flat-panel display screens. Sperry Marine will also provide support for system integration, installation, commissioning, sea trials and operator training.