Thoresen Shipping expands global network

Thoresen Shipping an owner and operator of dry bulk vessels and a wholly owned subsidiary of Thoresen Thai Agency Agencies Public Company Ltd (“TTA”), today announced the opening of an office in South Africa, as the company continues to expand its global network. The move has been made in response to growing demand from both its existing European client base and a burgeoning number of clients in South Africa.

A large portion of Thoresen Shipping’s fleet is positioned in the Atlantic Ocean, providing higher yields than other regions requiring a superior focus on premium service levels and freight from a diverse set of clients.

Thoresen Shipping has seen substantial growth in market share over the past few years under its renewed commercial team and business strategy. This opening represents yet another step in the process of executing a focused plan, which includes establishing a global footprint to better serve customers.

Thoresen Shipping will also benefit from the growing number of commodity shipments out of South Africa, through its growing owned fleet and supplementary Charter-In programme.

The launch of this operation in South Africa follows the launch of the company’s Copenhagen office in January 2013, which was opened to better serve a growing group of existing and potential clients with dry bulk cargo requirements in Atlantic and Mediterranean routes.

The Cape Town office will be headed by Philip Harris, an industry veteran with more than 30 years in the shipping industry. Harris previously built up a successful operation for Oldendorff Carriers in Cape Town.

In addition to expanding its office network, Thoresen Shipping continues to invest in its fleet, most recently adding the new vessels Magnhild and Thor Mercury, which bring the owned dry bulk shipping fleet to 20.

Ian Claxton, managing director, said, “Everything we do is designed to create maximum value for our clients and our shareholders. Recent news has demonstrated our focus on increasing our owned vessel and chartered-in vessel fleet; however, we are also expanding our commercial footprint into selected areas. Last year we opened our Copenhagen office to get closer to our European clients, and now this new office will enable us to further enhance our service levels for clients both in South Africa and Europe. This is a successful model that has worked well so far, and it is a strategy that we intend to further develop.”

Thoresen Shipping’s fleet transports dry bulk commodities, including coal, to customers worldwide. 

Adapted from press release by Sam Dodson

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/handling/07032014/shipping_companies_target_south_africa_599/