by hausen » August 25, 2010, 1:04 am
I doubt any of the other Canadian fleets would let any of their retired ships go to LLT, given their track record of taking other fleets' cast-offs and competing successfully with them.
The Sherwin could be cut down to 740' to transit the Seaway, but given her hold configuration even at 806' she only has the cubic capacity to carry about 21,000mt of grain per trip. To get the most out of her in, say, the Seaway grain trade, they'd have to shorten her and rebuild her cargo holds. At that point with all of that hold reconfiguration they might as well convert her to a self-unloader while they're at it. All of that's not to mention she needs an engine, too. So an acquisition like the Sherwin isn't necessarily out of the question, but it would be a major project.
Perhaps a more likely avenue for growth for a company like LLT (or Vanguard) would be the conversion of oceangoing vessels for Lakes service. Although no Seawaymax salties remain open for Lake shipping companies to acquire, there are plenty of other candidates. A few possibilities: the Spar Garnet and Spar Jade look like they've got relatively compact (read: short) stern machinery/accomodations sections, making them good potential candidates for lengthening to 740' with a new hold segment (like the Algonorth) or a full forebody replacement (ala the Canadian Prospector / Navigator). Spar Shipping's already sold off their other two Seaway-capable salties (Opal and Ruby), so maybe they'd like to part with the Garnet and Jade. Polsteam's three Turkish-built bulkers (Ziemia Gornoslaska, Cieszynska, and Lodzka) are relatively young (early 1990s) and are gearless, so no cranes to remove like Algoma's doing with its new saltie-laker conversions. Speaking of which, the two remaining Viken ships look to still be in good condition too.
I doubt any of the other Canadian fleets would let any of their retired ships go to LLT, given their track record of taking other fleets' cast-offs and competing successfully with them.
The Sherwin could be cut down to 740' to transit the Seaway, but given her hold configuration even at 806' she only has the cubic capacity to carry about 21,000mt of grain per trip. To get the most out of her in, say, the Seaway grain trade, they'd have to shorten her and rebuild her cargo holds. At that point with all of that hold reconfiguration they might as well convert her to a self-unloader while they're at it. All of that's not to mention she needs an engine, too. So an acquisition like the Sherwin isn't necessarily out of the question, but it would be a major project.
Perhaps a more likely avenue for growth for a company like LLT (or Vanguard) would be the conversion of oceangoing vessels for Lakes service. Although no Seawaymax salties remain open for Lake shipping companies to acquire, there are plenty of other candidates. A few possibilities: the Spar Garnet and Spar Jade look like they've got relatively compact (read: short) stern machinery/accomodations sections, making them good potential candidates for lengthening to 740' with a new hold segment (like the Algonorth) or a full forebody replacement (ala the Canadian Prospector / Navigator). Spar Shipping's already sold off their other two Seaway-capable salties (Opal and Ruby), so maybe they'd like to part with the Garnet and Jade. Polsteam's three Turkish-built bulkers (Ziemia Gornoslaska, Cieszynska, and Lodzka) are relatively young (early 1990s) and are gearless, so no cranes to remove like Algoma's doing with its new saltie-laker conversions. Speaking of which, the two remaining Viken ships look to still be in good condition too.