German shipping company Hamburg Sudamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft (Hamburg Sud) says it is buying Costa Container Lines' liner services in the following trades: Western Mediterranean / East Coast South America East Coast South America / Caribbean and Mexico Western Mediterranean / North Coast of South America and Caribbean Italy / Turkey and Greece Italy / Algeria Italy / Syria, Lebanon and Egypt
The purchase price has been disclosed but, with volumes of about 360,000 TEU, CCL generated a turnover of some euros440m last year.
Hamburg Sud says that it will take over the CCL organization including its land-based staff in Italy as well as of the CCL agency subsidiaries in Europe, Central and South America. Hamburg Sud will also assume the business related contractual relation-ships of CCL, including customer contracts, time charter, leasing, terminal and stevedoring, agency and other service provider agreements. Hamburg Sud will furthermore take over the CCL container fleet and will be chartering the CCL / GF Group owned container vessels.
The German company says: "Subject to the completion of the consultation process with the staff representatives in Italy and to the approval by the competent antitrust authorities the transfer of the business is scheduled to become effective on December 1, 2007."
GF Group will stay in shipping through the chartering of vessels owned by CCL or other group companies and through the operation of conventional reefer ships complementing the GF Group core activities in the international fruit trade. GF Group will also strengthen its activity as port service provider, in particular in the Savona-Vado terminal, where an increase of volumes and trade is foreseen for the next future.
Hamburg Sud will says it continue using the well-established brand Costa Container Lines and is confident that by adding the CCL business and by integrating the experienced staff of CCL and of its agencies, it will further strengthen the position of Hamburg Sud in the core North / South trade lanes and its service network.
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