It is reported that Maersk will cooperate with South African freight and financial services company Grindrod to form a joint venture to manage its container business in South Africa. Maersk will have a controlling interest in the joint venture.

Under the agreement, Maersk will hold a 51 percent stake and Grindrod will hold a 49 percent stake. Grindrod's intermodal and feeder shipping business, Ocean Africa Container Lines, will be merged with Maersk's South African maritime service.

　　By setting up a joint venture with Grindrod, Maersk hopes to increase South African port arrivals and provide customers with overland transportation services in parallel with ocean transportation.

Maersk's terminal operating unit, APM, Terminals has six inland container facilities in South Africa, which will be incorporated into the joint venture, as will the Grindrod's multi-purpose terminal in Durban. However, the joint venture will not include Grindrod's cold storage business in the country.

The value of the inland facilities at the APM terminal is 0.36 billion South African rand (about 23.4 million U.S. dollars), and the total value of Grindrod Intermodal and African Ocean Container Lines is 0.756 billion South African rand (about 49.1 million U.S. dollars), the Grindrod revealed.

Grindrod said: "Clients looking for end-to-end solutions in South Africa will continue to work with Maersk. However, the majority of onshore execution will be done by the new joint venture under the agreement after the deal closes."

"We look forward to working with Grindrod so that we can deliver higher value and a true end-to-end integrated logistics solution to our customers in South Africa," said Jonathan Horn, General Manager of Maersk South Africa and Islands."

"We will have a greater ability to provide solutions that integrate maritime and land transportation. At the same time, Grindrod colleagues will bring more capabilities and experience to our organization, and Grindrod will maintain a strong reputation in the land logistics field for a long time." Jonathan Horn added.

Logistics Baba learned that according to the eeSea liner database, Grindrod African Ocean Container Shipping Company operates four 1100 teu container ships across two major routes, one is a regional loop connecting Mozambique and Namibia through South African ports, of which Maersk is a time charter company controlling 20% of the capacity, and the other is a public feeder service between Port Elizabeth, Port Kuha and East London.

"Investments in assets and infrastructure are expected to be made in the future," Grindrod said."

Xolani Mbambo, Chief Executive Officer of Grindrod Freight Services, said: "Our integrated service offering will provide flexibility and ultimately help make a positive impact in South Africa's trade with the world."

The deal is still subject to regulatory approvals, including from the competition watchdog. If approved, it would be another step in Maersk's container integrator strategy, an operational and geographic add-on deal common to the group over the past few years.