"A Multitude of Opportunities Ahead for Heavy-Lift"

By John Bensalhia

Daan Koornneef’s 30-plus years’ experience in the maritime industry is standing him in good stead as the current CEO of Jumbo Maritime. His CV lists executive level posts with the likes of Wijsmuller (to become Svitzer), Smit Lamnalco, IQIP and Resolve Marine.

On the announcement of his new appointment as Jumbo Maritime’s CEO back in December 2022, Koornneef commented: “Jumbo is a market leader through its pioneering technology and skilled and experienced teams and for being a reliable partner to all stakeholders. I am delighted and proud to join the Jumbo team and confident that we can take the company to a great future together!”

Koornneef’s maritime life began in 1986 when he started as a midshipman in the Netherlands Navy. After sailing as a deck officer on various types of navy vessels, Koornneef then became a diving and explosive ordinance disposal officer.

“Since then, I have always liked the combination of working with vessels in projects,” Koornneef said. “In 1998, I joined Wijsmuller – which later became Svitzer after its takeover by APM – a towage and salvage company as general manager. And later, I became managing director of the salvage division. From 2005, I headed their oil and gas terminal operations division from Dubai.”

In 2008, Koornneef became CEO of Lamnalco, a company that specializes in worldwide oil & gas terminal and single point mooring operations, as well as services to floating production storage and offloaders, floating liquid natural gas units and floating storage regasification units. Later on, Lamnalco added Smit Terminals and PB Towage to the company.

The last position that Koornneef held before joining Jumbo was with an American salvage and special marine services company. “Here, we did some spectacular lifts and salvage projects. Very important to me, we also executed large cleanup projects as well as prevention of large quantities of waste getting in the oceans and beaches.”

He has also held various advisory and non-executive directorships – in particular, in the renewables service and manufacturing industry. He gives the example of IQIP, a specialist in offshore foundation technology.


Offering A Solution

When asked what attracted him to the role of Jumbo CEO, Koornneef explained that he likes sophisticated work vessels, with Jumbo in the top segment of heavy-lift, offering up to 3,000-tonne crane capacity, along with dynamic positioning 2 capabilities.

“Jumbo doesn’t sell transport – we offer a solution. We have experienced captains, project managers, crews and teams. We are not just a shipping company that sails vessels – we are much more than that. Jumbo is active in heavy-lift shipping, but also in transport of extraordinary cargoes and complex offshore installation projects. This makes for a nice combination of two normally different disciplines.”

In fact, Koornneef has known Jumbo for many years: “I was actually with my boys on board of a new build vessel which had just been outfitted with Huisman cranes about 20 years ago and I have always kept an eye on the company.”

With Koornneef quickly settled into the role of CEO, he said that he is “unchanged in respect of seeing Jumbo as a fantastic company, great vessels and an even better team.

“When I joined Jumbo, I had just left a very challenging period and the shipping market was at an all-time high. At the moment, the markets that we operate in are normalizing. We see cost control related downward trends in the renewables energy sector and threats of oversupply in shipping. Overall, I think both markets we operate in are sustainable.”

With the Jumbo-SAL-Alliance (JSA) and affiliate/partner companies such as Intermarine, Koornneef added that Jumbo can offer a wider and even more reliable service to its clients. “The JSA has also become a sizeable player that can offer competitive solutions for all cargoes. All in all, we are fully set to build for the future.”

In June 2023, it was announced that Koornneef had been appointed to the Board of the Royal Association of Netherlands Shipowners, Koninklijke Vereniging van Nederlandse Reders, or KVNR.

Koornneef’s role as board member will include tasks such as helping to shape policies at the association, bringing together Dutch shipowners to present a united front and promoting their interests at a national, European and also global level. The mission of the KVNR is to make sure that Dutch shipowners can operate on a global basis while safely navigating with clean ships run by skilled teams.


Journeying Ahead

Turning to trends in the heavy-lift shipping industry, Koornneef explained that most companies are looking to build replacement tonnage for ageing vessels, but not so much to grow their fleet overall. The only growth wave expected is in Chinese-built deck carriers.

“Rates are normalizing but are still good and they will remain good if supply and demand is carefully managed by all players,” he added. “We see more clients – in particular in the renewables sector – that are looking for project-based contracts with multiple journeys, vessels and type of cargoes. This way, more sustainable cost projections and reliability are offered, and the attention is more focused on the long-term partnership, compared to single voyage contracts.”

However, Koornneef acknowledged that there are challenges that need to be faced in the heavy-lift shipping industry – the biggest one of those being sustainability.

“How do we deal with legislation and targets set by politicians that have never seen a vessel from nearby or understand how the market works?” asked Koornneef rhetorically. “How do we invest in newbuilds when we have to use alternative fuels and technologies that are not even available right now? Which fuel, which engines do you use in your newbuild vessel that is going to last for 30 years?

“The segment is not comparable to container lines that sail fixed routes, and go to more developed ports with their own alternative fuel bunker stations. We can’t write off a vessel or propulsion investment within 10 years. Our cargoes are not containers where you can charge a uniform CO2 tax surplus per unit, it is much more complicated.”


Continuing Investment and Development

Koornneef added that since there are no viable solutions now or even possibly within 10 years, the outcome will be a higher level of tax, which in turn, will drive up costs and reduce profit margins.

“Next to that, these same container lines have a large number of newbuilds on order, interest is high, and so is inflation – which all adds up to more of a challenge to keep costs manageable. Contrary to what is needed, efficiency-related technological improvements will hence be less in the sector.”

With the challenges in mind, Koornneef cited the JSA initiative to launch the Orca newbuild as “a bold initiative against the odds.”

The four-strong Orca newbuilding series officially marked its first steel cutting on February 22, 2023. With the first newbuild project (entitled W2231) under way, the due date for the first vessel is July 2024. “We believe in the initiative, and we will continue to develop,” Koornneef said.

Continuing to secure its rightful place in the heavy-lift sector, Jumbo Maritime’s future looks healthy. “We will continue to invest in people, knowledge and specialized, modernized vessels,” Koornneef said. “We expect that due to geopolitical reasons, we will see not only an energy transition but also a relocation of industrial activities, and new areas to harvest raw and processed materials. In other words, a continued need for heavy-lift transport and installation services. We will continue to be there for our clients.

“Jumbo has been a pioneer in heavy-lift transport and is still a market leader; I am proud to contribute to that heritage.”


*Emissions directives, green fuels and MPV newbuild programs will be the focus of a mainstage panel session at Breakbulk Americas 2023. "Breakbulk & Heavy-Lift Fleet Update", moderated by Toepfer Transport’s Yorck Niclas Prehm and featuring executives from AAL Shipping, Intermarine, S&P Global, BBC Chartering and US Ocean, will take place on September 27 from 11:00am-11:45am.

Check out the full main stage agenda for this year’s event, happening on 26-28 September at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.