United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), the international container transportation provider, has announced the incorporation of a joint-venture company together with its present German agents, the Karl Geuther Group of Bremen.

United Arab Shipping Agency Company (North West Europe) GmbH – or in short UASC (NWE) GmbH – was incorporated in late August of this year and will assume agency duties, not only for Germany but also for Belgium and Holland, from the beginning of 2007.
Ken Bloch Sorensen, UASC’s president and CEO, welcomed the development.  “We’ve been working with our friends at Karl Geuther towards this end for some time,” he commented.  “We at UASC are delighted to have achieved our goal of providing a stable platform on which to build our future growth in Germany, Belgium and Holland.”
Hans-Joachim Schnitger, managing partner of Karl Geuther, UASC’s partners, commented:  “Everyone at the Geuther Group is committed to the success of this venture, and we are privileged to be part of UASC’s growth in these important markets, after having served successfully UASC in the German market and neighbouring countries for more than 40 years.”
The joint-venture company, in which UASC has a majority shareholding, will maintain the existing office locations in all three countries and will continue to provide the full range of UASC’s European service products. 
Ron Vink, managing director of UASC (NWE) GmbH, stated:  ‘For UASC’s customers it will be a seamless transition, and they will be unaffected by this development.  The same people will be caring for their cargo and managing our customer support services.”
UASC has direct weekly calls at Rotterdam, Hamburg, Thamesport and Antwerp on its Europe/Middle East/Indian Sub Continent/Far East service and is offering direct calls at Jeddah, Jebel Ali, Khorfakkan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Pusan, Kaohsiung and Yantian with own vessels.  In addition, UASC is offering a weekly service with its partners between North European and Far Eastern ports in a slot-swap agreement with Hanjin.
United Arab Shipping Co provides customers around the world with container transportation services through a network of shipping services.  UASC is jointly owned by the six shareholding states from the Arabian Gulf (UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, and Kuwait).
“UASC is one of the largest ocean carriers of dry cargo to the Middle East and has achieved this position on merit as a carrier providing first class service to its customers,” a company statement said.