Toll Group to invest $170m in new intra-Oceania vessels

The Sydney, Australia-based third-party logistics provider will build two new purpose-built ships with 40 percent more capacity to support trade between Victoria and Tasmania, the company said in a statement.    Toll Group will invest $170 million to build two new vessels to support trade between Victoria and Tasmania, a trade lane known locally as the Bass Strait, the company said in a statement.
   The Sydney, Australia-based third-party logistics provider said the new purpose-built ships, to be built by Jinling Shipyard in China and delivered in late 2018, will have 40 percent more capacity than current vessels. The ships will operate on overnight services six days per week between Burnie, Tasmania and Melbourne, Victoria.
   Toll worked closely with the Port of Melbourne to secure an additional seven hectares of land in order to provide the land side infrastructure to support the increased freight capacity of the new ships.
   “This significant investment underscores Toll’s commitment to the Australian market and the integral role that we play in connecting Tasmania to our vast global network,” Toll Group Managing Director Brian Kruger said. “With this investment, we lay the foundation to expand our leading role in Australian logistics and continue servicing our customers with the best possible infrastructure and solutions.”
   “This long-term commitment by Toll is another example of why Victoria and the Port of Melbourne are considered so highly around the globe and why Melbourne is the freight and logistics capital of Australia,” added Tim Pallas, treasurer of Victoria.
   Toll Group in the past 18 months has announced several major investments, including a $228 million Singapore (U.S. $167.69 million) logistics hub in Singapore, $40 million in new facilities in Western Australia, a $150 million freight sorting facility adjacent to Melbourne Airport and a 32,000-square-meter retail distribution center in Prestons, a suburb of Sydney.
   Parent company Toll Holdings, Australia’s largest freight transportation firm, was acquired by Japan Post Co. for $5.1 billion last year.