Kanoo Shipping, one of the largest regional shipping agencies in the Middle East, has announced an agreement to acquire Wallem South Africa, a provider of integrated maritime solutions in the cities of Durban and Cape Town.

Kanoo Shipping is a business division of Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Group, one of the largest, independent family-owned multinational businesses in the Middle East with an extensive portfolio of complementary business units and strategic partnerships across a range of industry sectors.

Wallem South Africa, now Kanoo Africa PTY LTD, was part of The Wallem Group, a leading provider of ship management, ship agency, ship broking, commercial vessel management and freight and logistics, said a statement from the company.

The strategic acquisition by the fully owned business division of Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo Group (YBA Kanoo) will give it access to all South African ports as well as clients in Mozambique, Namibia and other destinations in the southern parts of the Indian Ocean, it said.

Fawzi Ahmed Kanoo, acting CEO of YBA Kanoo Group, said: “The due diligence we performed prior to the acquisition made us confident that we are buying an excellent business in all aspects.”

“Wallem is a reputable name in the maritime industry and acquiring its operations in South Africa will be a gateway for Kanoo Shipping into the continent of Africa,” he said.

“At group level YBA Kanoo’s Shipping and Logistics business divisions will benefit from having a solid footprint in Africa which will reflect positively on the services they provide to their clients,” he added.

Handling its first vessel in 1911, Kanoo Shipping now operates in 20 countries, covering all principal ports and offshore tanker loading terminals around the Arabian Peninsula, including Iraq and assists with over 17,000 ship calls a year through a network that covers all ports from the Suez Canal to Sri Lanka and East/South Africa. – TradeArabia News Service