breakbulk americas 2016 EVENT COVERAGE
Credit: Hansa
BREAKBULK AMERICAS 2016 PHOTOS
HANSA FOCUSES ON SHIP SPECIALIZATION
TOP TO BOTTOM: Life’s a beach at Martin
Bencher’s booth; a challenging crane simulator; a Stetson hat was the prize at Boots, Buckles & Breakbulk closing party; networking on the floor; no bull, Breakbulk Americas mixes business and fun.
60 BREAKBULK MAGAZINE www.breakbulk.com
Ship owner and operator Hansa Heavy Lift sees specialization as the key to longevity in the multipurpose sector. With cutthroat pricing now the norm in the multipurpose, or MPP, sector, ship operators need to look to new strategies to survive the current state of the market, said Joerg Roehl, Hansa Heavy Lift managing director group and chief commercial officer. “More and more specialization is the way forward,” he confirmed to Breakbulk, adding that the offshore installation market is an area of increasing interest to Hansa. The company already has 10 ships capable of serving that market, but did not rule out further investments to cater to the offshore industry. “We are looking to extend the fleet more and more to have less
exposure to just one sector,” said Roehl. “We would consider reducing our fleet of ‘F’ Class MPPs to reduce our exposure to the market.” He acknowledged the glut in the offshore and oil and gas market as a result of lower oil prices, but said that he saw that sector recovering “much sooner” than the traditional MPP sector, which continues to be marred by low freight rates and oversupply of MPP tonnage. More consolidation is urgently needed, he said, coupled with a mass of scrapping of older tonnage. Roehl added that ship operators and owners are not the only stakeholder that have the ability to turn the sector’s fortunes around. “Banks need to take more responsibility as they are also part of the overall problem of overcapacity in the market,” he said. BB
Go to www.breakbulk.com/americas to view videos and expanded photo galleries from the event. ISSUE 5 / 2016