Jumbo-SAL-Alliance: 'New Powerhouse in Maritime Heavy Lift Sector'

Dutch maritime heavy lift transport and installation contractor Jumbo and German-based breakbulk and project cargo shipping company SAL on Thursday announced the launch of their joint venture Jumbo-SAL-Alliance, dubbed "a new powerhouse in the heavy lift sector."

"This is a very proud moment for Jumbo and SAL. Both companies believe that this move propels them to a greater level of geographical outreach and commercial capacity. To serve clients worldwide, the joint venture acts as the single commercial entry point for its joint sales network of offices and agents in 20+ countries," the companies said in a statement.

The alliance handles the complete marketing of 30 highly vessels with lifting capacities up to 3,000 t SWL, which is, according to the companies, the largest fleet in the 800+ t sector.

Michael Kahn, Managing Director of Jumbo, says: “This joint venture is a big step for both of us. In the past few years, it became increasingly clear that the benefits of collaboration heavily outweigh the traditional way of doing business. Our client base and interests have changed and to remain an effective global player in our field of activity, you always need to adapt and innovate. Not only on a technical level, but also commercially. We believe that the flexibility and competences that our clients are looking for are best served by SAL’s and Jumbo’s combined assets and knowledge.”

According to the duo, the Jumbo-SAL-Alliance has the goal of creating "a complete maritime transport solution for both breakbulk and specialised transportation scopes around the globe."

The joint venture was cleared by the German competition authority earlier this month. It is worth noting that both SAL and Jumbo continue as independent operators and vessel owners and both remain active brands in the market.MV Svenja (SAL) transporting monopiles and transition pieces

Jens Baumgarten, Director Chartering at SAL Heavy Lift, adds: “This collaboration allows us to bring an unrivaled shipping product to market. It provides a solid answer to the needs of big contractors and EPCs as well as manufacturers and forwarders. On one side, we can handle regular or spot-market breakbulk cargoes. On the other, we have the experience and the assets to handle very large and long-term scopes, including arranging third-party tonnage or whatever is needed to make good on our ‘one-stop-shop’ promise. Simply said, we want our customers to be happy during and after each and every project. This way, they will trust us to deliver a new heavy-lift solution for them the next time.”

"Something Extraordinary"

Martin Harren, Managing Director of SAL and the Harren & Partner Group, adds: “I truly believe we are creating something extraordinary here. This strategic collaboration combines engineered transport solutions with a significant fleet of heavy lift vessels. The Jumbo-SAL-Alliance stands for the best in heavy lift shipping and in complex global transportation. We have a unique team of highly experienced people which can really create value for our customers. From engineering to full-scope project management, by combining our resources we can now provide services that literally exceed any other heavy lift service currently in the market. It’s a winner.”

Felix Peinemann, VP Sales Shipping at Jumbo, states: “The Jumbo-SAL-Alliance merges the global chartering and marketing activities of both companies, creating one large, joint sales organization. Both brands retain their market presence in addition to the new set-up. On a personal note, we have spent much time with our new colleagues in the past months, organizing this joint venture, which went very well. I believe that our joint efforts have led to a solid alliance. If the level of cooperation and building relationships in the preparation phase is any measure of success, then the Jumbo-SAL-Alliance will be very successful!”