SAL – Where modern high tech and tradition meet

Located about 30 miles outside the city of Hamburg on the south bank of the river Elbe is the main office of SAL – one of the leading carriers specialized in the world wide transport of heavy lift cargo.

1865 – Delivery of First Vessel
The history of SAL can be traced back as far as 1865, when the first sailing vessel SS “Amoenitas” was delivered to the Heinrich family by the Sietas ship yard in Germany. Over the next 150 years, five generations continued to be engaged in shipping.

1980 – Launching of the Modern Office
In 1980, the modern SAL office was founded by Hans Heinrich. In 1984, Hans Heinrich, together with his brother Claus, took over the management of 3 vessels from their father Paul Heinrich (PH). In the same year, the first geared vessels with 2 x 38 mtons SWL were ordered. A little more than two decades later, the four new buildings of type 176 feature cranes with up to 700 mtons SWL each.

Since 2001, SAL has been under the joint management and ownership of the Heinrich and Rolner families and has grown to a staff of almost 100 ashore and about 550 crew members on the vessels worldwide.

2007 – Joint Venture with “K” Line
In April 2007, SAL entered a joint venture with the “K” Line Group headed by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisa, Ltd., Tokyo. With a fleet totaling almost 500 vessels, “K” Line is one of the leading shipping companies in the world. The joint venture by these two shipping companies with their long histories resulted in a wide variety of synergy effects. While SAL’s strength lies in its extensive experience in heavy lift shipping, “K” Line’s contribution emerges from its worldwide logistical network and its highly diversified fleet.

2011 – “K” Line as 100% shareholder of SAL 
After five years of successful partnership, the “K” Line Group – with effect of July 1, 2011 –, acquired another 50 per cent of the SAL Group and with that becomes the sole shareholder of the company.

World Wide Representation
While the SAL main office is located in Germany, a world wide network of agents and offices ensures the efficiency of local cargo handling. Since 2001, SAL is directly represented in China by its SAL Shanghai representative office. In 2007 an additional SAL Tokyo office was opened in “K” Line’s Tokyo head office. 

Since 2007, new SAL offices providing direct customer service have emerged in the following locations: London, Genoa, Fremantle, Helsinki, Houston, Singapore, and France. In October 2011, two new offices were opened in Rotterdam and Moscow.