The China Navigation Company ("CNCo") has acquired the dry bulk shipping businesses of Hamburg Süd. The two companies announced that they had received regulatory approval for the sale on 1st April.

The affected dry bulk shipping units have offices in Hamburg, London, Melbourne and Rio de Janeiro and a chartered fleet of approximately 45 vessels in the Handysize, Supramax/Ultramax and Kamsarmax/Panamax segments. CNCo plans to keep the offices and staff.

Calling the acquisition a strategic fit for CNCo, Managing Director, James Woodrow, said: "We are delighted to welcome on board a very talented and highly-experienced team. The natural synergies between the businesses and the skills and expertise of the new teams will complement those we have at CNCo. This will in turn help to develop our strategic expansion in the larger segments."