Q&A with Intermarine, LLC
When was Intermarine established? What is your headcount and who are the owners of the company today?
On February 7th, 1990 in New Orleans, Roger Kavanagh founded Intermarine based on the simple principle: that cargo and customer solutions came first—that once we understood our need we would find the appropriate vessel to deliver on our promise. Through the tireless efforts of all our employees we have stayed true to that simple idea and built a company with more than 230 employees located in our offices in North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Asia.
Tell us a bit about your type of vessels and your most regular routes where you traditionally have been more active. Do you consider yourself as a liner operator or more like a breakbulk tramp operator without fixed schedules?
We operate both liner and chartering services. In Intermarine’s infancy we primarily operated liner services in the Americas, however the Scan-Trans merger provided us with the ability to offer both liner and worldwide chartering services.
Our full Fleet list can be found at: http://www.intermarine.com/fleet
Do you have your own overseas offices? Should customers get their rates from your local offices or do you also have 3rd party agents in some places? Explain to our readers around the world where they should be in touch and with whom if they have a concrete inquiry.
Intermarine maintains worldwide offices in key locations to serve your liner and chartering needs:
General Email: imarine@intermarine.com
Americas: houston@intermarine.com
Europe: denmark@intermarine.com | wind@intermarine.com
Italy: italy@intermarine.com
Turkey: istanbul@intermarine.com
Malaysia: kualalumpur@intermarine.com
China: beijing@intermarine.com | shanghai@intermarine.com
UK: intermarine@spslondon.co.uk
Dubai: dubai@intermarine.com
More details here: http://www.intermarine.com/routes-schedules
All emails sent to imarine@intermarine.com are forwarded to the respective regions/appropriate representative where the work is requested.
What kind of information do you need in order to get a quick quote / rate indication?
Send request to salessupport@intermarine.com
Include the following information:
– Cut-off date
– Regular/contract booking
– Shipper information
– Port of discharge (POD)
– Description of goods (specify)
– Number of pieces
– Total weight/Total CBM
– Underdeck
– Hazardous/non-hazardous
– Stackable/unstackable or carrier option
– If any special instructions, please advise at the time of booking
– Additional reference information, if any
Do you accept IMO cargoes and shipper’s own containers?
Yes, Intermarine is able to accept IMO cargo and shipper’s own containers.
Give us a few examples of projects that you have carried recently and tell us a bit about some of the complex challenges you may have faced.
Intermarine’s Industrial Grace was utilized for the transportation of a 680 mt Vessel Lay System (VLS) measuring 15 x 16 x 32.5 meters high plus accessorial equipment from fabricator’s berth in Genoa, Italy, to McDermott’s yard in Batam, Indonesia.
Challenges: Intermarine’s in-house technical team had to design unique sea-fastening material to alleviate the accelerations that the VLS would sustain during loading and transportation. Intermarine was also asked to go into extensive analysis of the hatch covers to evaluate the strength and integrity of the vessel.
Solution: We worked closely with McDermott to adapt to the client’s rigorous design criteria and regulations to ensure the utmost precautions were taken with the high value cargo. To fulfill the task, Intermarine had to design and procure lifting gear serving the purposes both to fit the VLS construction and allow for inboard cranes technical characteristics. The methodology was accepted and Intermarine has carried out the work successfully, on time and within budget.
Intermarine was hired to transport 25.000 freight tons for Geodis. These modules were safely moved across the Atlantic without any damage done to the cargo due to the expert job by our Port Captains. Many weeks were spent, diagnosing the loading/discharging operations, lashing and securing the cargo, and making sure that Intermarine took great care of the customer’s possessions. Intermarine had to produce a full and complete method statement as well as participate in various pre-load meetings in order to ensure everything would run smoothly on vessel’s arrival.
Challenges: The main challenge was the hooking on/off as the module were up to 16m high with the hooking points on top.
Solutions: Shore crane was hired in load and discharge port. This assisted in helping hooking on and off of the cargo and increased to the safety of the cargo and all personnel assisting in the operations. This resulted in the cargo being safely loaded and discharged.
Do you have an engineering department from where clients can get help and assistance?
Intermarine has a technical department staffed with Master Mariners, Naval Architects, Former Vessel Captains and Structural Engineers whose combined experience totals more than a century.
For more than 25 years Intermarine’s technical department has customized more than 5,000 cargo plans for 2,500 voyages. Services offered include: customized method statements, port captain services, photographic cargo reports, drawing software and 3D modeling; and worldwide support.
We understand that you are running your own terminal in Houston, tell us about the advantages that gives clients using Intermarine.
Intermarine controls Industrial Terminals, the busiest project cargo terminal in the United States. Terminal highlights:
- Fully-owned and controlled project cargo terminal enhancing Intermarine’s vertically integrated transportation solution.
- 95 acres combined storage area adjacent to three deep water berths serviced by marginal rail allowing direct ship-to-rail handling of heavylifts.
- Two main terminal gates with direct access to the main dock divided into dedicated zones serving different trade lanes.
- Offsite Truck Processing Center allowing processing export documentation while trucks are enroute to dedicated trade lane zone.
- Advanced Terminal Operating System with cargo barcoding and tracking capability.
- Express Delivery system (ITEX) for certain types of cargoes exempted from regular receiving process through the Truck Processing Center.
- In-house packing division (IPACK) offering full range of packaging services.
- Foreign Trade Zone offering flexible import storage options, and re-exporting with customs duty relief.
- HSEQ program with highest safety and compliance standards in the industry.
You took over Scan-Trans a couple of years ago. What has that meant in practice for your business model and explain some of the synergy that came out of this takeover/merger?
One of the reasons the merger was so positive was the fact that there were hardly any kind of redundancies in the staff. Intermarine was focused on the American trade lanes, whereas Scan-Trans had a worldwide focus. Intermarine quickly ensured that it was pretty much ‘business as usual’ allowing the various companies around to continue to be empowered to make daily decisions, which is the ‘fuel’ for commercial people in the chartering departments.
People like growth, and with the growth strategy of Intermarine, it created the confidence of job security and a bright future for everybody. People like to be on a winning team!
Today, Intermarine is able to offer customers a worldwide platform, with capable staff and state-of-the-art tonnage with lifting capacities up to 1,400 Mtons. We have offices covering all time zones and have a very local approach to the customers – being able to assist them with any problem they might have. For sure Intermarine will continue to grow. Satisfied customers and profit are the main focus for Intermarine – this will ensure sustainable growth.
Where do you see market growth in the next 2-3 years?
It’s very difficult to predict the future. From an Intermarine perspective, we feel that our performance, structure and strategy place us in a position to navigate the changes that the sector is being and will be faced with.
If 3 different freight forwarders ask you for a rate for the same project would they be given the same rate? Do you have a transparent system in case a rate is asked in China and in the US for the same project?
If three freight forwarders contact us, yes, they will receive the same rates. In June we released the second version of iShips, a proprietary, centralized business process management software that enables us to use a system of integrated applications to manage our business, and automate many back-office functions. These functions include: sales, operations, customer service, cargo management, vessel performance, accounting and management reporting. iShips centralizes and manages all activities from our offices worldwide.
Who are your port agents in China currently?
In China we have own offices in Beijing and Shanghai
Intermarine Beijing Co.,Ltd
TEL: +86 10 8428 0036
EMAIL: beijing@intermarine.com
Intermarine Shanghai
TEL: +86 13817675082
EMAIL: shanghai@intermarine.com
Are there any new developments in the pipeline that could be interesting for our readers to know about?
You can expect deliveries and continued investments in newbuildings. Additionally, we continue to invest in talent through our shipping and chartering trainee program which has developed some of the industry’s brightest talent. Presently we have more than a dozen past trainees who are in management positions within Intermarine. As of now, we have five trainees in our Aarhus, Kuala Lumpur and Naestved offices.
Interviewee:
Ask Munck
Managing Director – Worldwide Chartering Services
ask.munck@intermarine.com
Intermarine, LLC
Intermarine.com