United Heavy Lift Names New Vessel UHL Fable

Hamburg-based heavy lift shipping company United Heavy Lift held a naming ceremony for its newest heavy lift ship, UHL Fable.

Built at the CSSC Hudong shipyard in Shanghai over a relatively short period of time, the newbuild is the 19th and final vessel in United Heavy Lift's F900 Eco-Lifter series. The construction time from keel laying in July 2023 to delivery to the German bridge crew led by Captain Karsten Strotmann and his first officer Pit Awe in April 2024 was just nine months.

Measuring about 150 meters long, UHL Fable features an IMO Tier III certified main engine that is also capable of running on biodiesel. Up to 95% of the vessel’s NOX emissions are washed out while diesel particles are burnt off in the catalytic converters.

The ship was named on Monday at the Baakenhöft Terminal near the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in the Port of Hamburg.

"We are very happy to be naming yet another vessel in our home port of Hamburg," said Andreas Rolner, Managing Director of United Heavy Lift, at the ceremony. "The UHL FABLE completes our F900 Eco-Lifter fleet, which stands for United Heavy Lift’s commitment to promoting sustainable shipping. It is the most modern and homogeneous heavy lift fleet in the world. There is a strong global demand for alternative energy sources, and we are proud to be part of the supply chain for green energy."

On its maiden voyage from Tianjin and Dongzhao to Cuxhaven (Germany), the multi-purpose (MPP) heavy lift vessel transported a project cargo of rotor blades for onshore wind turbines for the UHL customer, Danish manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems.

Following the naming ceremony, UHL Fable will continue its service to Asia fully loaded with heavy and project cargo.

UHL Fable is the shipping company’s second new addition this year, following the UHL Fresh delivered six months back. United Heavy Lift operates a fleet of 24 heavy lift vessels with lifting capacities of 160 to 900 metric tons.

United Heavy Lift said it has attuned its fleet to the requirements of the growing market for eco-friendly breakbulk and heavy lift ocean transport. "We are supporting the energy transition with our vessels, and the transport of onshore wind turbines is part of our core business," Rolner said. "The market for this is developing well with demand driven by the desired expansion of renewable energies. Our customers have already reserved extensive capacities for wind power: We are already 30 per cent booked in this segment until 2028."

The shipowner said it believes that the reason why market players are currently securing tonnage so early is that while there is high demand for heavy lifter services, hardly any new vessels are expected for this segment in the foreseeable future. "Shipbuilding sites are expensive and also scarce because they are occupied by newbuilds such as tankers or bulkers. What’s more, heavy lift vessels are also complicated to build," he adds. The tonnage and crane capacity of the UHL-F900 vessels also make the fleet suitable for cross-sectoral use like container transport.

UHL Fable
Length overall: 149.99 meters
Beam: 25.6 meters
Summer draught: 8.3 meters
Maximum speed: about 15 knots
Floor space under deck: 3,870 square meters
Floor space on deck: 2,990 square meters
Floor space in total: 6,860 square meters
Deadweight: 13,402 tons
Cargo handling gear: 2 cranes | 2 x 450 metric tons (safe working load)