Cargill Dumps Shipping Arm

Cargill has announced a change in shipping strategy, following the sale of its last four remaining Panamax bulk-carriers, and from here on will charter in ships for all its cargo requirements. "The widespread trend towards consolidation and size within the ship owning segment implies one either gets bigger or scales back," said Vice President of Cargill International Tom Intrator in a statement. "And in our case we have chosen the latter." Cargill will continue to retain a strong time-chartered fleet, numbering nearly 150 vessels, and its commitment to this strategy is illustrated by the fact that the last four ships were sold with an agreement to charter them back for five years. That fact alone assured the ships fetched $1-2 million above prevailing market rates. Intrator says the company's focus will now be on logistics management. "It's in this area that our risk management skills, supply chain expertise and commodity knowledge give us a distinct advantage," he said. Cargill's shipowning activities date back to the 1960s.