Varamar DMCC and ASL Shipping & Logistics Pvt Ltd., a COSCO Shipping group company, today announced that they have entered into a strategic commercial partnership with the aim of helping both companies to strengthen their respective trades.
Varamar, a liner and tramp carrier that specializes in break-bulk, dry-bulk, oversized and containerized cargo, has historically focused on trade lanes connecting Europe with the Middle East, Asia and Far East, while also trading to Africa and the Americas. The recent expansion of Varamar 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 deadweight tonnage (dwt) size.
“Break bulk” is the system of transporting goods in pieces separately, rather than being shipped in a container. Goods shipped in crates, bags, boxes, drums, barrels without the use of container are referred to as break bulk cargoes. These type of cargoes are usually large in sizes and dimensions. Some examples of break bulk cargoes are oil and gas equipment, windmills, yachts oversized vehicles, boats, cranes, turbine blades, ship propellers, generators, large engines, construction equipment and so on. These goods are also known as noncontainerized cargo, or NCC.
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 the shipping platform Shipnext 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,” Zhuang said. “We look forward to working together to strengthen the commercial and chartering activities of both COSCO and Varamar.”
Reprinted from Marine Construction Magazine Issue VI, 2023.
