TBS moves into project business

TBS moves into project business TBS International Ltd. said it has acquired its first heavy-lift tweendecker.
   TBS said it signed an agreement to acquire the CEC Cardigan, to be renamed Zia Belle, a 1997-built, 8,874-deadweight-ton, heavy-lift multipurpose tweendecker with two 150-ton cranes, combinable to lift up to 300 tons.
   The deal “solidifies TBS’s operational capabilities in project cargoes and complements our multipurpose tweendecker fleet,” said Joseph E. Royce, chairman, chief executive officer and president of TBS. “Adding heavy-lift capability in the TBS Fleet will better enable TBS to service our growing list of customers engaged in global projects in the energy, mining, steel, construction and infrastructure industries which require vessels with heavy-lift capabilities.”
   TBS has agreed to acquire the vessel “charter free” for $20.6 million with delivery expected during the fourth quarter.
   Following this purchase, TBS’s fleet will total 47 vessels and 1.4 million dwt, comprising 24 multipurpose tweendeckers and 23 handysize/handymax bulk carriers.
   In addition, TBS has on order with Chinese shipyards six Roymar Class 34,000-dwt multipurpose vessels with retractable tweendecks. Two of those vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2009 and four in 2010.