Maersk deal forged for extra-large cargo ships

NORFOLK

Norfolk-based Maersk Line Ltd. and Rickmers-Linie (America) Inc. have formed a partnership that will use two new multipurpose ships, operating under the U.S. flag, to serve customers that need to move especially heavy cargoes worldwide.

The two new ships - the Maersk Illinois and the Maersk Texas - are 19,000 deadweight ton vessels. They're twice the average size of U.S. flag multipurpose vessels now in operation, according to a statement released by the companies.

The service will operate as Maersk-Rickmers U.S. Flag Project Carrier, or simply Maersk-Rickmers.

"The Maersk-Rickmers service is designed for shippers needing U.S. flag service and seeking the advantageous economics of large multipurpose vessels," said Dave Harriss, director of Ship Management and Chartering at Maersk Line Ltd.

Federal law requires that U.S. military shipments move only on U.S. flag vessels.

In many cases, shipments of goods financed by U.S.-guaranteed loans also must be transported by U.S. flag vessels, said Kevin Speers, a Maersk Line Ltd. spokesman.

The two new ships are capable of handling unusually large breakbulk shipments - noncontainerized goods that require heavy-lift cranes - as well as "project cargoes" associated with heavy industrial projects such as mining or power-generation equipment.

The partnership reflects "a renewed interest in breakbulk and project cargoes" at Maersk Line Ltd., Speers said.

The two new ships were built in China and are currently under the Marshall Islands flag. They will be reflagged by Maersk Line Ltd., which has overseen that process nearly 40 times since 2005.

Maersk Line Ltd., a U.S. company that is a unit of Copenhagen-based A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, provides U.S. flag transportation, ship management and maritime-technical services to government and commercial firms.

Rickmers-Linie (America) Inc., based in Houston, is part of Rickmers-Linie, Hamburg, Germany. The company specializes in transporting heavy cargoes such as power-generation machinery, wind-power equipment, locomotives and yachts, among other items.

Robert McCabe, (757) 446-2327, robert.mccabe@pilotonline.com