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GAC acquires ESL Shipping’s agency business in Sweden

Global shipping, logistics and marine services provider GAC has acquired the agency business of Finland-based ESL Shipping’s Swedish subsidiary Norra Skeppningsgruppen (NSG) for an undisclosed sum. The transfer of NSG to GAC Sweden was completed on December 1 and marks the second Swedish ship agency purchase by GAC this year, following the acquisition of Hasting Ship Services in October.

NSG was established in 2015 and became a part of ESL Shipping in the autumn of 2019. The company provides a range of ship agency services, as well as logistics and chartering services, to shipowners and operators in most ports in the southeast of Sweden. Based in Oxelösund, where GAC Sweden has had a presence since its acquisition of SwedAgency in August 2019, NSG handles about 200 port calls a year, with a further 150 at other ports in the region.

“This latest addition represents the latest step in our sustainable growth strategy, especially in the dry bulk sector,” said Johan Ehn, managing director of GAC Sweden, which specialises in ship agency and freight forwarding services, with a particular focus on the energy sector. The acquisition of NSG is also expected to further bolster GAC Sweden’s services for all kinds of vessels, from cruisers and FPSOs to car carriers.

As for ESL Shipping, part of the Aspo Group, the company’s managing director Mikki Koskinen said the sale of NSG would enable ESL to focus on its core operations as “the leading carrier of dry bulk cargoes in the Baltic Sea region”.

Adis Ajdin

Adis is an experienced news reporter with a background in finance, media and education. He has written across the spectrum of offshore energy and ocean industries for many years and is a member of International Federation of Journalists. Previously he had written for Navingo media group titles including Offshore Energy, Subsea World News and Marine Energy.
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