CP Ships Buys Ivaran Lines, Gains Gateway to South America

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 5/1/1998

In the last two years, Canadian Pacific unit CP Ships has purchased Cast North America, Lykes Lines, Contship Container Lines, and Montreal Terminals. Four acquisitions in such a short time would be quite a mouthful for any company, but CP apparently is still hungry for more.

In March, the ocean carrier announced that its parent company would acquire Ivaran Lines, a Norwegian-flag carrier serving North America, South America, and the Caribbean. Ivaran, which was founded in 1920, calls at ports in the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, the Caribbean, and Central America.

The acquisition will increase both revenues and container volumes for CP ships by about 10 percent. Ivaran operates 13 vessels, which range in capacity from 563 to 1,742 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units). The company has a fleet of 26,000 containers.

The deal includes Ivaran's business and brand name, its staff of 250 people (mostly in the United States and Brazil), and three liner services. Those services include U.S. East Coast to East Coast South America (with Columbus Line and Alianca), U.S. Gulf Coast to East Coast South America (with Grupo Libra and TMM), and U.S. Gulf Coast to Central America and the Caribbean.

Those routes will provide CP Ships with an entree to the booming trade between North and South America. The company already has a presence in the region through Contship, which offers service between Europe and South America's East Coast. Ivaran also will gain by the merger, says Chairman and Managing Director Erik Holter-Sorensen: "CP Ships can provide to Ivaran the organization and capital resources of a major operator with the focus of a niche specialist. This is just what Ivaran needs."