Japanese shipowner Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) after obtaining approval from the relevant authorities under the competition law, it acquired 72% of the shares of its equity method affiliate Gearbulk Holding AG on January 20, making the company a consolidated subsidiary.
With headquarters in Switzerland, Gearbulk Holding’s business is the ownership and management of open hatch fleet.
MOL has had a 34-year partnership with Gearbulk since its equity participation in 1991. With the consolidation, the MOL Group’s fleet of dry bulk carriers will total 338 vessels.
Gearbulk’s open hatch fleet will account for about 60 of those vessels, roughly 20%, and is expected to grow as a distinctive business, MOL said, adding that it will give the Group “a competitive advantage.”
Open-hatch vessels have box-shaped cargo holds and wide hatches, allowing them to load, transport, and unload semi-finished products such as pulp, forestry products, steel products, and aluminum ingots.
“MOL will develop a global sales network, which responds to the global economy’s changing supply chains and trade patterns, through Gearbulk’s highly specialized operations and worldwide network. In addition, Gearbulk will further strengthen its services by creating synergies such as the creation of new business opportunities and improving the efficiency of ship allocation,” MOL said in its statement.
In becoming a consolidated subsidiary of MOL, Gearbulk has divested its “non open hatch ship business” and concentrated its business on “open hatch ship business,” according to MOL.
