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Zeaborn Group has announced the acquisition of Rickmers-Linie - a specialist in the transportation of breakbulk, heavylift and project cargoes. The deal also includes the business operations of MCC Marine Consulting & Contracting (MC Marine), which acts as a bunker and chartering broker, and NPC Projects.

The agreement contracts between Zeaborn and Rickmers were signed on 7th February. The execution of the transaction is subject to antitrust clearance.

Commenting on the takeover, Jan Hendrik Tobbe, managing partner at Zeaborn, said: "With the growth of our fleet, we were faced with the challenge of building a global organization. Everyone who knows the shipping industry knows that this is a very challenging task in our time. In this respect, it's a fortune for our development that Rickmers-Linie was available at the right time."

Established in 1982, MCC Marine acts as a worldwide bunker and chartering broker. As a marine fuels broker, the company handles all bunker supplies for Rickmers-Linie Hamburg.

Zeaborn and Rickmers-Linie (with NPC and MCC) have a combined fleet of around 50 multi-purpose vessels, with deadweight capacities ranging between 7,500 and 30,000 tonnes.

Zeaborn will be taking over Rickmers-Linie's offices in Belgium, China, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand and the US, as well as its agency network.

"Just like us, Rickmers-Linie and NPC Projects are concentrating on the transport of break bulk, heavy lifts and project cargoes. They have an excellent reputation, have close, long-term customer relationships and stand for reliability, quality, innovation and technical competence. With its line-up services and the tramp business of NPC, Rickmers-Linie connects the most important business centers in the world. In this unique combination, we are now able to offer our customers even more tailor-made transport solutions," remarked Ove Meyer, who is also managing partner at Zeaborn.

"Rickmers-Linie gets new powerful shareholders who want to expand their activities in the MPP segment. With Zeaborn, we have the right partners to play an active part in the consolidation of the heavy and MPP sector in a currently difficult market situation, and to offer our customers excellent service, safety and reliability on an economically stable basis," said Ulrich Ulrichs, CEO of Rickmers-Linie.