Bremen-based shipping and logistics group Harren & Partner has formed a new partnership with the Hamburg-based ship design and engineering service provider HeavyLift@Sea.

After bilateral talks, the Harren & Partner Group acquired a major stake in HeavyLift@Sea, and 14 HeavyLift@Sea engineers will continue to provide their services for the Harren & Partner Group as well as for external clients from their office in Hamburg-Harburg.

Martin Harren, CEO of the Harren & Partner Group, said, “Heavy lift and MPP shipping has always been a cornerstone of our business. In the next few years, we will successively expedite the development and addition of the fleet towards a new generation of carbon-neutral heavy lift carriers. This requires extensive ship design and engineering capacities. Our new colleagues have invaluable knowledge and experience in the field of building new and converting heavy lift vessels and deck carriers.”

He further noted that now the engineers will be in direct contact with the respective operators, allowing them to see, inspect and constantly improve their work in a purposeful way.

Hendrik Gröne, managing director of HeavyLift@Sea, said, “With its SAL and Intermarine subsidiaries, the Harren & Partner Group is one of the world market leaders in the heavy lift and MPP segment. We see enormous potential for newbuildings. I am sure that with our expertise in this area, we can further advance both our engineering capabilities and the flexibility of the group. It is a perfect fit for us because the Harren & Partner Group – with its affiliated companies – secures our team’s basic capacity utilisation for the next few years.”

Jakob Christiansen, head of Research & Development, Retrofit & Newbuilding at the Harren & Partner Group, is taking on the role of managing director of HeavyLift@Sea alongside Hendrik Gröne. Christiansen stresses: “SAL Engineering has already 40 engineers working on maritime engineering solutions for our fleet – with some potential to grow in the area of ship design. We are now closing this gap. The cooperation with HeavyLift@Sea is the logical next step for us to secure experience and know-how. The new colleagues have extensive technical knowledge that perfectly complements our engineers’ expertise. By joining forces, both Harren & Partner and HeavyLift@Sea will strengthen their service portfolios. Customers will benefit from more choices and better solutions.”