Chiquita Shipping Operations Return to New Orleans
Today, Gov. Bobby Jindal joined Chiquita Brands International Inc. Senior Vice President Mario Pacheco to announce the company will relocate its shipping operations from the Port of Gulfport in Mississippi to the Port of New Orleans. Chiquita plans to ship 60,000 to 78,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units, or TEUs, per year at the Port of New Orleans, representing a roughly 15 percent increase in current container volumes there. Chiquita’s shipping operations will return to New Orleans after a nearly 40-year hiatus.
Chiquita Shipping Continues Despite Bankruptcy
Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (NYSE:CQB) announced that it does not expect the bankruptcy filing by Eastwind Maritime Inc. and certain of its affiliates to adversely affect service to Chiquita's customers and the delivery of its bananas and other fresh fruit products. All of the 12 oceangoing ships that the company sold in 2007 remain under long-term charter to Chiquita, including the four ships sold to Eastwind. "We are taking appropriate steps to protect Chiquita's interests under these long-term charters," said Waheed Zaman, senior vice president, product supply organization.
Chiquita Completes Sale of Ships
Chiquita Brands International, Inc. has completed the previously announced sale of its 12 refrigerated cargo vessels for $227m. The cash proceeds from the transaction are being used to repay approximately $170m of debt, and the remainder will be retained for general corporate purposes, including growth investments or future debt repayments. The ships have been chartered back from an alliance formed by Eastwind Maritime Inc. and NYKLauritzenCool AB. The parties also entered a long-term strategic agreement in which the alliance will serve as Chiquita's preferred supplier in ocean shipping to and from Europe and North America.
2007 USS AOTOS Awards Announced
The United Seamen's Service (USS) 2007 Admiral of the Ocean Sea Awards will be presented to James S. Andrasick, President and CEO of Matson Navigation Company, Inc., Morten Arntzen, President and CEO of Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. and John F. Reinhart, President and CEO of Maersk Line, Limited. The honors will officially be awarded at a gala dinner and dance to be held at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers, New York City, on November 2, 2007. John Bowers, Chairman of the USS AOTOS Committee and President of the International Longshoremen's Association, AFL-CIO, made the announcements. sector of our industry," said Mr. Bowers. services, tanker shipping and U.S. Honolulu-based Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. International Flag and U.S.
