The joint venture between Hapag-Lloyd and Norsul has been approved by regulatorsContainer ship company Hapag-Lloyd and Norsul have launched a joint venture cabotage business in Brazil called Norcoast.
Hapag-Lloyd and Norsul, a Rio de Janeiro-based shipping and logistics company, say Norcoast plans to offer container cabotage and feeder services in Brazilian ports in the first quarter of 2024.
Gustavo Paschoa will be the chief executive officer of the 50-50 joint venture. Paschoa has extensive industry expertise in the Brazilian transport and logistics sector, including in senior management positions at Norsul, Damco, DSV and Penske Logistics.
“The Brazilian coastal transport sector is constantly growing and handled over 1.2 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) in 2022,” Hapag-Lloyd senior managing director of Latin America Andrés Kulka says.
“Norcoast will offer integrated logistics as well as quick and efficient solutions for its customers, thereby taking advantage of the increasing demand in Brazil’s coastal shipping market.”
Norsul chief executive Angelo Baroncini says: “The creation of Norcoast is an important milestone which combines the expertise of Hapag-Lloyd and Norsul.
“Norcoast will promote access, additional capacity and inclusion of companies in the use of coastal navigation as a transportation mode whilst being present in the largest ports in Brazil."
The partnership between Hapag-Lloyd and Norsul has been approved by the Administrative Council for Economic Defence, Brazil’s national competition regulator.
The request to operate as Brazilian shipping company has also been approved by the Board of Directors of the Agência Nacional de Transportes Aquaviários.