Singapore: Shipping’s ongoing era of consolidation continues. Multipurpose operators AAL and Peter Döhle have today announced the launch of a new global cooperation. From June onwards, the pair will offer joint tramp and project services.
The two carriers will remain independent of each other, with separate ownership, operations and identities. However, across a number of key trade routes between Asia, Europe and the Americas, they will deploy and jointly represent what they claim is the market’s youngest fleet of 26 multipurpose heavylift vessels.
Christoph Döhle, CEO of Peter Döhle Schiffahrts KG, commented, “We are delighted to combine our tramp and project cargo resources with AAL. Both fleets of multipurpose heavylift vessels perfectly complement each other and our proposed fleet mix of seven classes of large and small tonnage will deliver highly flexible, sustainable and efficient benefits for our customers and their projects.”
AAL and Peter Döhle will share operational responsibilities, with AAL handling operations East of Suez and in the Americas and Peter Döhle overseeing activity in Europe and Africa. Their combined fleet ranges in size from 12,000, to 31,000 dwt.
AAL’s tramp and projects division managing director, Namir Khanbabi noted, “In a market where competition has been consolidated into larger operating entities, we and our customers stand to benefit immensely from economies of scale, a far greater reach within the market place and no risk of losing individual customer focus – something that is central to our corporate philosophy.”
Few sectors in shipping have been influenced more by the arrival of private equity, which in turn has spurred a perceived need among many of the traditional operators to scale up to compete against the new money in the segment.
