Project Cargo Professionals

SAL Intermarine at 35: Richard Seeg On Building a Breakbulk Brand, Shaping a Sector


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Richard Seeg on 35 Years of SAL Intermarine: Navigating Markets, Building a Breakbulk Brand, Shaping a Sector

In this special episode of Project Cargo Professionals, host Luke King sits down in Houston with Richard Seeg, President of SAL Intermarine, to reflect on the carrier’s remarkable 35-year journey — a story that mirrors the evolution of the breakbulk and multipurpose sector.

Richard explains how the company’s origins in 1990 were built on a simple philosophy — finding the right ship for the customer’s cargo — and how that customer-driven mindset carried the line through major shifts in global trade: from post-Soviet Russia, to the boom years of trans-Pacific power equipment, to Venezuela’s peak petrochemical build-out, to today’s fast-growing markets in Guyana and Suriname.

He shares stories from Intermarine’s early liner services, the highs and lows of market cycles, the political shocks that reshaped trade flows, and the brand’s enduring role as a specialist carrier across the Americas. We also explore the JSI Alliance  — how it works in practice, what customers gain, and why combining fleets brings new flexibility and capability to the region.

Richard offers rare insight into fleet strategy, including the return of the iconic D-class “Mini Monsters”, and the operational realities of today’s Americas trades — from restrictive ports and mining corridors to the growing pull of power-grid equipment, data-centre infrastructure, and copper-driven mining demand.

He also opens up about his own life and leadership journey: formative years in the U.S. Navy, postings in Vietnam, Guam and Asia, the lessons he carried into commercial shipping, and the proudest moments and regrets that shaped his approach to people and management.

This is a candid, reflective, conversation with a respected names in project shipping — and a rare deep dive into how a breakbulk line survives and thrives across three and a half decades of global change.

🎥 Recorded in Houston, Texas

👉 Connect with Richard Seeg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardseeg/

For all business enquires relating to the podcast, email [email protected]

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Project Cargo ProfessionalsBy Luke King