The two companies under 50 – 50 joint venture Saga Welco will have a combined fleet of 52 vessels, 20 coming from Westfal-Larsen through Masterbulk and 32 Saga Forest Carriers and Attic Forest, which will add a further two newbuildings in 2017. For both companies it merges their entire fleet of bulk carriers.
Explaining the rationale behind the pool Stephen Fordham, chairman Matserbulk and Westfal Larsen Shipping told Seatrade Global: “The industry has changed over the last few years with our particular core client base in the pulp sector and our customers are getting bigger and we need to be getting bigger to meet their needs. We need to be able to evolve with clients.”
The joint venture will commercially manage the largest fleet of open hatch gantry crane bulk carriers in the world. The companies specialise in serving the pulp trades from the East Coast of South America on their headhual trading, while competing across the bulk market on the backhaul trade.
The pool will be based just outside Tonsberg in Norway with management coming from both companies. The ceo Lars Traaseth will come Saga Forest Carriers while co be taken by Westfal-Larsen’s Einar Didriksen.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval and operations are expected to start on 1 October.
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