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

1838 – Delivery of First Vessel

The history of SAL can be traced back as far as 1838, 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 was under the joint management and ownership of the Heinrich and Rolner families and grew to a staff of over 60 at its main office and about 500 crew members on the vessels worldwide.

Technical Expertise of Lühe Engineering

The extensive experience of SAL GmbH & Co. KG is paralleled by the technical expertise of Lühe Engineering GmbH. Located under one roof, both companies cooperate closely to guarantee for a maximum of reliability and client satisfaction.

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 totalling over 440 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 will offer customers 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.

World Wide Representation

While the SAL main office is located in Germany, a world wide network of agents and representative offices ensures the efficiency of local cargo handling. Since 2001, SAL is directly represented in China by its SAL Shanghai office. A Beijing office was launched in 2007. With the newly created joint venture between "K" Line and SAL, an SAL branch office has been opened recently in "K" Line's Tokyo head office to fully implement all aspects of this new partnership.