Chiquita completes ship sale

Chiquita completes ship sale Chiquita Brands International said today it has completed the previously announced sale of its 12 refrigerated cargo ships that sail under the Great White Fleet name for $227 million.
   The sale is part of a debt reduction strategy in which the ships have been chartered back from an alliance formed by Eastwind Maritime Inc. and NYKLauritzenCool AB. The parties have entered into 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.
   Great White Fleet is one of the largest carriers in the U.S./Central America trades. In Florida, it offers weekly service between Port Everglades and the Central American ports of Puerto Cortes, Guatemala; Puerto Barrios, Honduras; and Puerto Limon, Costa Rica.
   In addition, Great White operates Central American services from the U.S. Gulf Coast ports of Freeport, Texas and Gulfport, Miss.; as well as from Wilmington, Del. and Port Hueneme, Calif.
   The Cincinnati-based banana company said it will use the cash proceeds from the transaction to repay about $170 million of debt, and the remainder will be retained for general corporate purposes, including growth investments or future debt repayments.
   Chiquita is best known for selling fruits and packaged salads, but it actually originated in the 1870s as an ocean carrier — moving under sail — that brought fruit from the Caribbean to the United States.
   Great White Fleet operations will continue unchanged.