Black economic empowerment
is a top priority
IT'S THE end of the Safmarine era in its unique South African sense.
First that trade-name sold to the Danish A P Moller group, along with the SCL liner business.
And now the SA Marine Corporation (SAMC) - and its non-liner operations - just having been bought-up by Capital Finance, a company controlled by the Athens-based Enterprise Shipholding Corporation - in turn controlled by the prominent Greek shipping family Restis.
Enterprise - with reported total assets of US$410-million (R2.54-bn) - has acquired, through the Capital Finance investment, operating assets valued at US$200-m (R1.24-bn).
According to Stamatis Restis, leading figure in the family, SAMC will remain an SA-registered company - with its 13 bulk vessels being manned and operated from Cape Town. These, and the operations trading under the names Safbulk and Safore (in which Iscor holds a 40% stake), will retain the present management and staff.
But what of the other parts of the non-liner division?
The first fits in rather nicely with the fact that Enterprise has one of the major independent reefer (refrigerated) fleets of 33 vessels - with two more newbuilds on the stocks in Taiwan. This meshes in with the Safmarine 50% stake in Unicool/Cool Carriers - a reefer joint-venture with the Swedish Leif Hoegh group.
Cool Carriers president, Mats Jansson, told FTW: We are happy to see such a strong owner, with a long and successful history in reefer shipping. It is therefore with great expectations that we are looking forward to further developing the Unicool group together with the new owners.
When it comes to the Restis reefer fleet.....nothing has been decided on the future employment - and we are awaiting coming discussions between the owners of Unicool.
Cool Carriers, together with Arctic Reefers, are, however, well placed to take care of these vessels if it is so decided.
That leaves the other interests.
A 50% stake in Pentow Marine - the deep sea tug and marine services provider - is one.
What happens here has not yet been decided, according to Pentow m.d. Malcolm Watts - who is not directly involved in this decision. The original link was 50%-50% between Safmarine and civil and construction group Murray & Roberts (M&R), he told FTW. The future lies in the dealings between Restis and M&R.
But whatever happens, Pentow shares must have other eyes on them - strategically placed geographically in the Cape, adjacent to one of the busiest long-haul sea routes in the world, and located far from other tug-owning countries.
There is also a 40% shareholding in Unicorn Lines. Again no official words on what will happen - but the Grincor Group, holders of the controlling 60% shareholding, have been rumoured in the past to be happy to take over the remaining holding. They certainly have the pre-emptive rights should Safmarine sell them - as do the joint-owners in the other two operations mentioned. But it's again a realm of pure speculation.
The remaining Restis acquisition is 50% of the Container Fruit Terminal in Cape Town.
And the indication of which way the Restis family will move?
They have expressed a strong commitment to the principles of employment equity, and the development of black economic empowerment (BEE).
And Capital Finance, according to Stamatis Restis: Plan to immediately put into motion steps with the other shareholders in Pentow Marine, Unicorn Lines and Container Fruit Terminal to establish BEE initiatives in these companies.
By Alan Peat
