NEWS

Latest news

January, 2012 - Westfal-Larsen’s entry into the BC to China forest products trade

 

Hardanger at Lynnterm

Inaugurating Westfal-Larsen’s entry into the BC to China forest products trade, M.V. Hardanger is this week loading the largest single hit export tonnage in Lynnterm’s history namely 44,600 tons of wood pulp for discharge in Qingdao, Shanghai and Changshu.

Built in 1995 by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Owned and Managed by Westfal Larsen, Bergen, Norway

LOA 213m.5m
Beam 31m
GRT 37,150 tons
DWT 50,058 MT
Speed 16 knots

In Norway	Panama transit with wind towers on deck

 

M.V. Hardanger is a perfect example of the standard design features of today’s modern fleet of open hatch gantry crane vessels. The majority of these specialized, and relatively expensive vessels to build, are dedicated to carriage of forest products in break bulk on world-wide liner trades, usually under long term contracts of affreightment.

From a historical perspective, H. Westfal-Larsen, born in 1872, established his own shipping company in 1905 when he took over the management of the new buildings S.S. "Hardanger"and S.S. "Venezia" designed for coastal timber trading. The company rapidly grew until World War 1 during which 11 ships were lost despite the neutrality of Norway. The inter-war years saw a new round of expansion into the tanker sector and the North & South American liner trades but during World War II a further 22 ships were lost from a fleet of 36.

A previous Hardanger – built in 1924 GRT 4000, DWT 7,300 tons		1972 built Hardanger – an early gas carrier

Following the war, development of liner trades was again the company’s priority before becoming a partner in Star Shipping in 1964. In 1995 Westfal-Larsen's holdings in Star Shipping were transferred to the newly established Masterbulk Pte. Ltd. in Singapore, however in 2009 the partners to Star Shipping decided to go their separate ways with Masterbulk today owning a fleet of 23 open hatch box shaped vessels engaged in international trading.

From http://www.chamber-of-shipping.com

 

 

December 22, 2011 - WLS receives award from Port of Tarragona

In the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Tarragona Port Promotion Group-APPORTT held on 16th November 2011, it was unanimously agreed to award the prize for the Special Dedication to Westfal-Larsen Shipping, in recognition of the endeavour and constant meritorious work that has contributed to generating business in the Port of Tarragona.

The award ceremony took place in Tarragona at the Tarragona Port Promotion Group-APPORTT's Christmas dinner where our representative Mr. Mauro Tosi from the Livorno office accepted the award. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 20, 2011 - New Additions to the Masterbulk/Westfal-Larsen Shipping fleet

We are pleased to announce that MV Mobilana (ex Sanko Stream) was successfully delivered to Masterbulk Pte Ltd at Kakinada on July 20th. MV Mobilana will go straight to dry-dock at Pasir Gudang, before she is put in to service in our Far East-Usg/USEC trade.

The next vessel, MV Sanko Spring will be renamed MV Mariana and is expected to be delivered to Masterbulk in Osaka around August 1st. She is scheduled to dock at Chengxi, before being put in to service in our Far East-USG/USEC trade.

Both vessels will be flying Isle of Man flag.

 

 

 

July 7, 2011 - M/V OKIANA rescue operations in the vicinity of Carribean Sea

On 07th July, in the Carribean Sea approximately 54 miles east of San Andres enroute to Panama, our good vessel M/V Okiana was requested by the USCG to divert to render assistance to a distress fishing boat named Melany, registered in Las Pidras, Venezuela, with four fishermen onboard.

Their boat had been adrift for 20 days due to disabled engine and lack of communication The last three days they had just eaten salted dried fish.

The fishermen tried to repair the engine, after they had received a battery from M/V Okiana, but were unable to do so. They therefore wished to abandon their boat and sail with our vessel to Panama. Permission to do so was given by the Ship Owners, and the four fishermen sailed with our vessel to Cristobal.