Hong Kong's OOCL has appointed Vestamar as its new agent in Turkey, effective July 1.
The agency has offices in Istanbul and Izmir and its shareholders are the same for OOCL's existing Turkish agent, Barkon.
"Vestamar will be wholly dedicated to OOCL's activities in Turkey. We believe we can best serve our customers by having a dedicated focus on OOCL's growing range of services to and from Turkey," said Henry Wong, managing director of OOCL (Europe) Ltd.
OOCL, as part of the Grand Alliance with Hapag-Lloyd, NYK and MISC, is soon starting a weekly Asia Black Sea (ABX) service, which will have weekly calls in Istanbul and Izmir. The ABX will offer transits from and to Shanghai, Ningbo, Shekou, and Singapore, said Wong.
The carrier has also established links between Turkey and North America on the Grand Alliance's AEX service via Gioia Tauro and said that it will also explore Intra European opportunities.