CP Ships name to go

CP Ships name to go    TUI AG will phase out the CP Ships brand name following its recent $2.3 billion acquisition of the Anglo-Canadian shipping line.
   A spokesman for TUI subsidiary Hapag-Lloyd Container Linie said the decision has been made to kill the CP Ships name, but that no timeframe has been set. “It will take time,” he said.
   By combining the operations of Hapag-Lloyd and CP Ships, the German group has been catapulted to become the world’s fifth-largest ocean container carrier, with a merged fleet of about 414,000 TEUs.
   CP Ships itself has just recently ended its multiple-brand strategy and stopped using historical names such as Lykes, Canada Maritime and ANZDL.
   Recently, lines have been generally reversing the trend to adopt a multibrand policy, thought to help retain regional image and maximize overall market share. In 2004, Hamburg Sud ditched its Columbus Lines and Crowley American Transport names, and from next February, A.P. Moller-Maersk will no longer use the name “Sealand” or “P&O Nedlloyd” following its takeover of the two carriers.