RollDock, SAL Heavy Lift to Create World’s 1st Pool for Dock Vessels

Heavy-lift specialists RollDock and SAL Heavy Lift are joining forces in the creation of the world’s first pool for dock vessels.

The pool is intended for roll-on/roll-off and float-in/float-out heavy lift cargoes and is set to be established on April 1, 2018.

The pool will consist of the combined fleet of six geared dock vessels and will be managed by RollDock with SAL providing specialized heavy break bulk cargo support. 

Five of the vessels come from the existing RollDock fleet (S and ST class vessels) and one from SAL (Combi Dock I).

“Both SAL and RollDock stand for superior shipping solutions in their respective fields, where we place the engineering part of our work at the forefront. Our companies share the same philosophy on client focus, quality, innovation and safety. With our pool, we will be offering a competitive yet high-quality heavy transport service,” Paul Könst, CEO RollDock, explained.

“Between RollDock and SAL, we quickly saw the advantages of working together. Through a consolidation, we will see a better utilization of the vessels and because we share our network of offices and agents, we can offer a global representation of heavy shipping disciplines,” Martin Harren, Managing Director SAL, said.

“SAL wants to keep its place in the roll-on/roll-off and float-in/float-out market, however, we also realize that our core service is lift operations. Whenever clients look for heavy transportation – with lifting, rolling or floating services or a combination – our setup offers them a one-stop-shop,” Justin Archard, Commercial Director SAL, added.

The duo will also continue to operate the vessels outside the pool.