Maersk looking at ferry “transaction”
A.P. Moller – Maersk said late Wednesday its in “discussions with a number of parties' about a 'possible transaction involving Norfolkline,” its European ferry subsidiary.“There is no certainty as to whether these discussions will result in a transaction,” the Danish company said.
Norfolkline operates 18 short sea passenger and freight vessels. It carried 2.4 million passengers and 700,000 vehicles in 2008. The freight operation moves about 1.3 million trailers a year and offers door-to-door as well as port to port cargo transport.
It operates a passenger ferry services on three routes: across the English Channel between Dover and Dunkirk on two routes across the Irish Sea, both from Liverpool, one to Belfast and one to Dublin. Next month it plans to start a service between Rosyth, Scotland, and Zebrugge, Belgium.
The cargo network is even broader offering 300 weekly services on nine routes connecting Ireland, England, France, Belgium and Denmark
Norfolkline was founded in 1961 by a Dutch entrepreneur, who operated it until 1973 when he sold it to the conglomerate Unilever. Maersk acquired the company in 1985.
