Rickmers-Linie adds new vessels to Europe-India service

Germany's Rickmers-Linie is upgrading its India service with the addition of new vessels. It said it will provide direct eastbound and westbound service between Europe and India, although, calls in Pakistan and the Middle East will be made on an "inducement" basis.
The carrier for project cargoes and heavy lifts said its Europe-India service will call at: Hamburg, Antwerp, Genoa, Mumbai and Chennai, as base ports.
Four new vessels are in the process of entering this service, it said. The Linde and Martin have been long-term chartered by the line, while the Rickmers Yokohama and Rickmers Tianjin are due for delivery from China's Xinshun Shipyard group in May and July, respectively. It said the Linde was the first to be phased in, starting her first eastbound voyage in mid-March.
Director of marketing and sales Gerhard Janssen said: "We are seeing increasing demand for breakbulk space on this route. Eastbound, we expect to be loading steel products as a base load, topping off with manufactured goods, ranging from mobile cranes and mining products through to specialist railway and power generation equipment. Westbound, there are more and more non-containerised shipments as India's engineering and manufacturing capabilities develop."
The charter market for breakbulk vessels with heavy gear has also improved, he said: "Only a year or two ago, all that was really available was old tonnage in need of retirement. Now there are a number of good modern ships available at reasonable rates. We still have four ships to be delivered after the Rickmers Yokohama and Rickmers Tianjin, and we are seeing a continued improvement of the market environment."
Built in 2005, the Linde and Martin are 12,800 dwt vessels each equipped with two 120-tonne capacity cranes that can be twinned to lift 240 tonnes. The Rickmers Yokohama and Rickmers Tianjin are 17,000 dwt vessels each equipped with two 150-tonne cranes and an 80-tonne crane. This enables them to lift up to 300 tonnes by twinning the two larger cranes.
The carrier said the size of the ships deployed on the revamped Indian service will offer greater flexibility to serve ports such as Mumbai, where locks restrict the passage of larger vessel, as well as various smaller ports "on an inducement basis."
It added that ports in the Middle East Gulf will in future be served primarily by its Pearl String service.

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