TBS in Brazil joint venture

TBS in Brazil joint venture    TBS International said this week its joint venture, LOG.STAR, has obtained an operational license to provide domestic shipping services in Brazil.
   LOG.STAR is a Brazilian-flag shipping company that will concentrate on the movement of breakbulk, bulk parcels, heavy lift, general and project cargoes along Brazil’s coastline and Amazon River basin. TBS owns 70 percent of the joint venture. The remaining 30 percent owned by Log-In Logistica Intermodal, a publicly traded Brazilian logistics company with major shareholders including Vale and Petros, the pension fund of Petrobras.
   TBS said it expects to use its international breakbulk shipping expertise to meet the growing demand of a Brazilian coastal and Amazon River domestic transportation service.
   Joseph E. Royce, chief executive officer of TBS, said the deal would allow his company to “capitalize on our 15-year presence in Brazil and enter into a new market segment, building on our domestic market knowledge, our international breakbulk shipping expertise and our longstanding customer relationships. Brazil’s coastal trade accommodates an increasing volume of cargo, and the Brazilian economy has strong long-term fundamentals.”