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iv boss plays down fears of Containerships job losses
Page 8
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Drivers at a Teesside transport company are worried about their future following the launch of a joint venture. Dominic Perry reports.
EIMSKIP. TIIE ICELANDIC ownerof Ill( reefer operator Innovate Logistics, has further expanded its portfolio with a joint venture (JV) with Finnish shipping line Containerships.
However, the JV has fuelled speculation over the future of Containerships' UK operation at Teesport. Drivers say the first they heard of it was when dock staff told them. One Containerships driver says: "It's quite interesting times for us.There are fewer and fewer of our boxes on the ships. Information is very thin on the ground."
Under the JV deal, which was made public on 26 September, Eimskip and Container Finance Ltd Oy, Containerships' parent company, have formed a new business, Containerships Group. in which they have a 65%/45% share respectively. As well as Containerships' operation it includes Lithuanian shipping line Kursiu A large proportion of Kursiu's UK transport is already handled by Teesside haulier B u I me rs Logistics, which is planning large-scale expansion. This has fuelled fears that it will supplant Containerships' 28 truck fleet.
However, Kimmo Nordstrom. chairman of the Containerships board . pl ays down fears of job cuts: "The details of the new operation will be finalised within the next 100 days and will he announced early next year — I would guess not job losses but rather increases." Nordstrom adds that because Containerships runs a door-todoor operation, control of its own fleet is vital.