What United Heavy Lift does

United Heavy Lift GmbH & Co. KG (UHL) is a Hamburg-based, privately held heavy lift shipping company that provides ocean transportation for heavy, complex, and oversized project cargoes worldwide. The firm operates through a dedicated chartering department serving enterprise customers across multiple verticals, with the publicly stated core being Renewables (wind turbine components), followed by Oil and Gas, Mining, Floating Cargo, Power Generation, Port Infrastructure, and Breakbulk and Bulk. Revenue is generated primarily through time charter and voyage charter arrangements on a quote-based, project-specific pricing model, often structured as multi-year contracts.

The company's asset base is built around 19 F900 Eco-Lifter MPP tweendecker vessels with combined twin-crane lifting capacities up to 900 metric tons and 3 UML 160 class vessels with 160 metric ton lifting capacity, all DNV-classed and IMO-fitted, with the newer F900x units being ordered with SCR catalysts for IMO Tier III compliance. The fleet is reported to deliver 30-50% lower carbon footprint than existing heavy lift tonnage and features shallow draft capability for smaller and remote ports. UHL is part of the privately held UNITED GROUP alongside sister entities including United Wind Logistics, United Heavy Transport, United Engineering Solutions, and UHL Crewing, with parent United Shipping Group GmbH & Co. KG. United Engineering Solutions provides integrated naval architecture, marine engineering, 3-D CAD voyage simulations, hydrodynamic assessments, and port captain services through a team of over 50 specialists.

UHL's go-to-market is B2B enterprise direct sales targeting project cargo owners, energy companies, mining firms, and infrastructure developers, supported by participation in industry events such as Breakbulk Europe and corporate website / LinkedIn presence. Operational technology adoption includes Syroco's weather routing platform implemented across 11 vessels for voyage optimization. The legal entity is a German limited partnership (Kommanditgesellschaft) registered at the Local Court Hamburg HRA 128244, with general partner UHL Verwaltungs GmbH and Managing Directors Andreas Rolner, Dr. Nicolas Dallmann, and Christoph Puschmann.

Name

United Heavy Lift

Legal name

United Heavy Lift GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://unitedheavylift.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

United Heavy Lift (UHL) is a Hamburg-based, privately held heavy lift shipping company that operates 19 F900 Eco-Lifter MPP vessels and 3 UML 160 vessels globally, transporting oversized wind energy, oil and gas, mining, and infrastructure project cargoes under charter contracts, with engineering support via affiliate United Engineering Solutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Heavy Lift Maritime Shipping / Project Cargo Ocean Transportation

NAICS

Deep Sea, Coastal, and Great Lakes Water Transportation (48311), Marine Cargo Handling (488320)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400), Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412)

akta.pro primary industry

Heavy Lift / Breakbulk & RoRo Project Shipping (TLADAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Energy & Power Projects (Oil & Gas, Renewables, Power Generation) (TLACAIAB), Heavy Machinery & Oversized Equipment (Cranes, Excavators, Presses) (TLACAIAH), Engineering, Lift Planning & Method Statements (Rigging/Crane Plans) (TLACAIAL)

Keywords

• Heavy lift shipping
• Project cargo transport
• Ocean freight services
• Breakbulk shipping
• Maritime logistics

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Ocean Freight and Chartering: Ocean transportation services for heavy lift, breakbulk and project cargoes. Revenue generated through vessel chartering on time charter or voyage basis for transporting oversized and heavy components globally.
2. Engineering Services: Heavy cargo and structural engineering, vessel modification, naval architecture, mobilisation and supervision, sea transport consultancy, and port captain services through United Engineering Solutions affiliate.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

United Heavy Lift provides ocean transportation services for heavy lift, breakbulk, and project cargoes using a modern fleet of over 20 MPP (Multi-Purpose Project) vessels with lifting capacities from 160 to 900 metric tons. The company delivers chartering services to enterprise clients across renewables, oil and gas, power generation, port infrastructure, mining, and breakbulk sectors, supplemented by engineering capabilities through its affiliate United Engineering Solutions.

Product overview

United Heavy Lift is a leading provider of ocean transportation for heavy lift, breakbulk, and project cargoes. The company operates a versatile fleet of over 20 modern heavy lift vessels, primarily consisting of 19 F900 ECO-LIFTER class vessels (state-of-the-art MPP tweendeckers with lifting capacities up to 900 metric tons) and 3 UML 160 class vessels. Services span multiple sectors including Renewables, Oil and Gas, Floating Cargo, Power Generation, Port Infrastructure, Breakbulk and Bulk, and Mining and Material Handling. Engineering capabilities are provided through affiliated company United Engineering Solutions, offering naval architecture, structural engineering, vessel modification, 3-D CAD animations, and port captain services. The company is part of the UNITED GROUP.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• F900 Eco-Lifter: State-of-the-art heavy lift vessel class with lifting capacity of 900 metric tons combined, representing the core of UHL's fleet. Features fuel-efficient propulsion technology with 30-50% less carbon footprint compared to existing heavy lift fleet.
• UML 160

Products and services

• F900 Eco-Lifter Heavy Lift Vessel Chartering Chartering of F900 Eco-Lifter class MPP tweendecker heavy lift vessels with combined twin crane lifting capacity up to 900 metric tons (2x450mt), shallow draft for smaller ports, 30-50% lower carbon footprint, DNV-classed, Portugal-flagged, IMO-fitted with ice class GL E3 / FIN 1A; available for enterprise project cargo globally.
• UML 160 Heavy Lift Vessel Chartering Chartering of UML 160 class heavy lift vessels with 160 metric ton lifting capacity and versatile cargo handling for heavy, complex, and oversized components.
• United Engineering Solutions Engineering services affiliate providing naval architecture, marine engineering, heavy cargo and structural engineering, vessel modification, 3-D CAD animations, mobilisation and supervision, sea transport consultancy, port captain services, and hydrodynamic assessments including vessel motion response analysis.
• Renewables Transportation Services Ocean transportation solutions for renewable energy components including wind turbine nacelles, blades, towers, and associated equipment for wind energy developers.
• Oil and Gas Transportation Services Heavy lift ocean transportation for oil and gas industry equipment, modules, and project cargo.
• Floating Cargo Services Specialized ocean transportation for floating cargo operations.
• Power Generation Transportation Services Heavy lift logistics for power generation equipment and infrastructure components.
• Port Infrastructure Transportation Ocean transportation for port infrastructure components and project cargo supporting port construction and modernization.
• Breakbulk and Bulk Transportation Ocean transportation services for breakbulk and bulk cargoes requiring flexible cargo handling.
• Mining and Material Handling Transportation Heavy lift logistics for mining equipment and material handling machinery used in mining operations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30-50% lower carbon footprint compared to existing heavy lift fleet
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• United Engineering Solutions (UES)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliate company providing engineering services including heavy cargo and structural engineering, vessel modification, naval architecture, 3-D CAD animations, mobilisation and supervision, sea transport consultancy and port captain services. Together, United Heavy Lift and UES offer logistics services and project management from a single source.
• United Wind LogisticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company within the UNITED GROUP, specializing in wind logistics transportation services.
• United Heavy TransportcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company within the UNITED GROUP, specializing in heavy transport services.
• United Shipping GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company of the UNITED GROUP, encompassing United Heavy Lift, United Heavy Transport, United Wind Logistics, United Engineering Solutions, UHL Crewing, and other entities.
• CSSC (China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation) ShipyardscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShipbuilding partner for F900 Eco-Lifter newbuilding program. Includes CSSC Hudong Zhonghua and Guangzhou Wenchong shipyards in China.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Tidal Transit: UK-based offshore service vessel operator focused on crew transfer and offshore wind support vessels. Partial overlap with UHL in offshore wind logistics but focused on smaller CTV/CTV-class vessels rather than project cargo tonnage.
• Edison Chouest Offshore: US-based diversified offshore vessel operator with growing exposure to offshore wind logistics. Comparable to UHL in serving offshore wind customers but with a North American operational base and broader offshore services portfolio.

Direct peers

• Jumbo Maritime: Dutch heavy lift shipping specialist focused on complex project cargoes, offshore energy, and breakbulk. Directly competes with UHL in engineering-driven, high-complexity project shipments.
• BigLift Shipping: Dutch heavy lift shipping company operating a fleet of MPP vessels for breakbulk and project cargo. Direct competitor in the same heavy lift, breakbulk, and renewables transport markets as UHL.
• BBC Chartering: German-headquartered global leader in heavy lift, breakbulk, and project cargo shipping with a comparable multi-purpose vessel fleet. Closest direct competitor to UHL given similar geographic focus, vessel class overlap, and customer segments (wind, O&G, mining).
• SAL Heavy Lift: German-based heavy lift ocean carrier with a fleet of heavy lift and project cargo vessels serving energy, infrastructure, and renewables customers. Closely comparable to UHL in customer mix and vessel profile.
• Hansa Heavy Lift: German-headquartered (Hamburg) heavy lift operator with a fleet of multipurpose heavylift vessels serving global project cargo customers. Same home market, customer segments, and vessel class as UHL.
• Meriaura: Finnish heavy lift and project cargo shipping company with MPP vessels serving renewables, industrial, and offshore customers in Northern Europe. Comparable in scale and segment focus.

Broad incumbents

• Star Bulk Carriers: Global dry bulk shipping company with exposure to breakbulk and project cargo via Newcastlemax and Capesize fleets. Tangentially comparable as a public shipping operator in adjacent tonnage classes, though not a direct heavy lift competitor.
• COSCO Shipping Heavy Transport: Chinese-headquartered global shipping conglomerate with a heavy transport division operating semi-submersible and project cargo vessels. Overlaps with UHL in project cargo shipping but operates at much larger group scale with broader shipping portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/united-heavy-lift
• Facebookfacebook.com/UnitedHeavyLift.DE

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about United Heavy Lift