Shipping groups’ joint venture in thriving sector

Goole-based Danbrit Shipping and Danish firm Blue Water Shipping, will work together under the Blue Water Danbrit Shipping name, to offer a one-stop service across the UK.

It will include ships agency, wind turbine transportation, workboat support, stevedoring and terminal operation and related support services.

Peter Aarosin, managing director of Danbrit Shipping, which has a £12m group turnover and about 40 staff, said the new business would have three permanent UK operations in the future: one on the Humber, one in Aberdeen and a third in the South.

He added: “We already work in this sector but on a limited scale. The big part of renewable wind energy is still two years away.”

The development is another sign of the region’s ambition to become a centre for the renewables energy industry following Siemans’ commitment to build Britain’s first major offshore wind turbine manufacturing plant in Hull. Mr Aarosin said prospects for job creation were ‘substantial’. “Renewable energy is vital to the future of the Humber – as vital as oil and gas were to Aberdeen in the 1970s,” he said.

“We can offer the wind turbine industry in the UK a well established and tested logistics product.

“We hope to offer people in the Humber region new employment opportunities and a chance to be part of the future, the renewable energy sector.”

He added: “The combination of our two company’s skill base in the new joint venture means that we can tackle all operations within the renewable energy sector.

“Blue Water’s existing and well established customer base balanced with Danbrit’s local knowledge and integration will prove to be an advantage for the new company as well as its custo- mers.”

Blue Water Shipping has been involved in the logistics chain of wind turbines since 1995.

Kurt Skov, managing director, said: “From our base in Esbjerg, Denmark we have developed a set-up that offers a number of tailor made services including terminal operations, port services, stevedoring, agency and worldwide, shipping.

“These services all have focus on the wind turbine industry and we perform most of the tasks with our own in-house staff and utilising own developed IT-platform for wind turbine logistics, own stevedores, supercargoes, shipping and chartering staff and naval architects.

“With the future major development of the wind turbine industry in and around the UK we have decided to join forces with Danbrit Shipping and look forward to a very interesting period together with our new partner and future UK customers.”