Rickmers-Linie Expands Heavy Lift Fleet

"A plan of Rickmers four multipurpose heavy lift vessels on order from the SADRA Shipyard in Busheher. They are scheduled for delivery between July 2007 and July 2008." Rickmers-Linie, the Hamburg based global breakbulk, heavy lift and project specialist, has ordered four multipurpose heavy lift vessels from the SADRA Shipyard in Busheher. They are scheduled for delivery between July 2007 and July 2008. The newbuildings have been purpose-designed for the carriage of breakbulk, heavy lift and project cargo. With a deadweight of 24,000 tonnes, an overall length of 175m and a beam of 26.5m, they will be fitted with variable height tweendecks for maximum cargo flexibility. Indivisible heavy lift cargoes will be handled by two 350 tonne cranes that will have the facility to be twinned for handling loads of up to 700 tonnes. Once delivered, the new vessels will be deployed in Rickmers-Linie's project and heavy lift liner service between the US/Europe and the Middle East/India. Rickmers-Linie has also confirmed its charter of four 7,200 tonne deadweight heavy lift vessels, Scan Arctic, Scan Bothnia, Scan Germania and Scan Finlandia. They will be delivered to Rickmers-Linie between August 2005 and spring 2006 and will be renamed Rickmers Arctic, Rickmers Bothnia, Rickmers Germania and Rickmers Finlandia. According to Rickmers, these four vessels will be deployed in the project and heavy lift market and will provide a complementary service to Rickmers-Linie's existing liner network and especially call at ports that lie outside of the main corridor currently served by the liner services. Two of the four vessels, built in 1998, are equipped with twin 100 tonne cranes that can handle lifts of up to 200 tonnes while the other two, built in 2000, have twin 150 tonne cranes with a combined lifting capacity of 300 tonnes. The weather deck can accommodate cargo measuring up to 90m in length and 16m in breadth. In a new departure for Rickmers, the four ships also have a roll-on / roll-off capability, each being fitted with a 350 tonne capacity stern ramp with a door opening of 10m x 6.2m. All four vessels have a fully laden draft of 6.65m.