White Plains / NY. (bl) Augustea Atlantica S.p.A. and Bunge Limited announced the formation of a joint venture company. The company, Augustea Bunge Maritime Limited (ABML), will operate an independent fleet of ocean-going dry-bulk vessels. The Malta based venture aims to assemble a fleet of ships through acquisition and chartering-in of modern bulk carriers from Handysize up to Capesize vessels. Augustea Atlantica and a Bunge subsidiary will own 55 percent and 45 percent shares, respectively, in the joint venture. Augustea will provide commercial and technical management to the new venture while a Bunge subsidiary will provide advisory services. «Through this venture Augustea will be well positioned to provide a more integrated logistical solution to our customers, and to best meet growing demand for ocean transport of bulk commodities», said Raffaele Zagari, CEO of the Augustea Group. «We look forward to joining Augustea Group´s more than 50 years of experience in deep-sea shipping with Bunge´s extensive experience in soft commodity supply chains». Giovanni Ravano, Managing Director of Bunge´s Ocean Freight Product Line added that «This partnership allows Bunge to expand our ocean freight activities, while generating valuable new insights into the supply chains that are an integral part of our core business».
About: Augustea Atlantica S.p.A. operates 43 ships, 15 of which are owned, with the remainder comprised of vessels chartered-in and in joint-venture. The size of vessels owned by Augustea in the past ranges from dry bulk handysizes to aframax crude oil carriers, whereas current fleet is exclusively made of panamax and post-panamax bulk carriers. In 2010 Augustea Atlantica moved an annual volume of approximately 26 million tons of bulk commodities across the globe. Augustea is a privately owned group headquartered in Italy with offices in London, Buenos Aires and Barranquilla, also active in harbor towage and heavy lift with dedicated barges and tugs. Augustea provides a first-class service to customers, emphasizing safety and reliability.
