Varamar, a liner and tramp carrier that specialises in breakbulk, dry-bulk, oversized and containerized cargo, has historically focussed on trade lanes connecting Europe with the Middle East, Asia and Far East, while also trading to Africa and the Americas. With the recent expansion to 10 international branches, located in Antwerp, Hamburg, Genoa, Athens, Odessa, Istanbul, Dubai, Shanghai, Houston and Vancouver, has given it a chance to set new ambitions. Varamar operates mainly in the 3,000-30,000 dwt tonnage size.
The COSCO Shipping group, on the other hand, owns and operates larger (28,000 dwt- 60,000 dwt), bulk, multi-purpose and semi-submersible vessels, primarily focused at operating in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.
As well as acting to help each other gain market share, the two entities will promote their partner’s schedules, cooperate with joint marketing initiatives, establish a process for sharing information on open tonnage, and support each other on adjacent trades.
The COSCO and Varamar fleets and schedules will be represented on Shipnext – the shipping platform – which will help both chartering teams facilitate cooperation.
Kaptan Singh (Malik) will be heading and creating teams for this partnership as head representative, working alongside Niraj Mehta, managing director of Varamar DMCC and Andy Zhuang, managing director of Varamar Shanghai.
“Both entities have different areas of operation and trade targets, so we believe this agreement plays to the strengths of each partner. We look forward to working together to strengthen the commercial and chartering activities of both COSCO and Varamar,” said Andy Zhuang, managing director of Varamar Shanghai.
