OBITUARY

Unexpectedly, Mr. Hans Heinrich, the founder of SAL Heavy Lift GmbH, passed away on December 25th, 2013.

Mr. Heinrich was born in Cranz on September 8th, 1946. He grew up in a shipping environment. His parents were ship owners and he spent a great deal of his childhood and youth at sea.
 
In 1980 Mr. Heinrich established a small shipping company in Steinkirchen on the south bank of the river Elbe, SAL Schiffahrtskontor Altes Land GmbH. It wasn’t long before he noticed the need for vessels with good crane capacity and as early as the mid 1980’s the fleet included two vessels each with 300 mtons lifting capacity.

Over the next two decades the family company developed into one of the world’s leading heavy lift shipping companies.

In 2007 a joint venture was established with “K” Line. New vessels were being ordered from the Sietas Shipyard, where the Heinrich family received their first new building back in 1865.

In 2010/11 two new-buildings were delivered. The vessels set new standards in crane capacity; for the first time the boundary of 2,000 metric tons lifting capacity on a cargo vessel was broken, making the vessels the most powerful heavy lift vessels in the world.
 
In 2011 Mr. Heinrich decided to retire from shipping and the shares of the company were sold to “K” Line.
 
Mr. Heinrich was a successful businessman and a visionary, and in spite of his great success, maintained social responsibility, modesty, a warm heart and an excellent sense of humour.

Mr. Heinrich loved mottoes, one of them was:
“Only the one choosing to make a new path will leave a footprint”
and he surely did.

The Altes Land is a particular area in Germany with a long cultural tradition. Mr. Heinrich went to great effort to preserve and restore many of the traditional old houses including the village center in Steinkirchen which has been completely renovated. He showed an extraordinary social commitment and was a sponsor of many projects but always in his usual modest way. He also was a member of Lions Club Altes Land and a Marwin Jones Fellow.

Mr. Heinrich has been an extraordinary employer, a mentor, a friend and a good and fair business partner who will be missed dearly by all employees and his partners.

He leaves an enduring memory. We express our sincere condolences to his wife Annegret, daughters Svenja & Wiebke, grandchildren and the entire Heinrich family.
 
Should you wish to express your condolences, please use the following mail address, to which the Heinrich family has direct access:
 
condolence@sal-heavylift.com
 
 
SAL Heavy Lift GmbH
The management and the entire staff