The Norwegian cargo ship equipment delivery service Marinetrans today said it had acquired Door to Deck Global Marine Logistics (D2D), a specialist in providing replacement parts and equipment for ships that covers the region of Cyprus and Greece.
Marinetrans calls itself the world’s largest fourth-party logistics (4PL) service provider specialized in forwarding and logistics of marine spare parts. The company has nine offices worldwide and, through a network of partners, it offers services in 22 warehouses and 2,000 ports.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Marinetrans said that the co-founders of D2D, Kyriakos Tsitouridis and Michalis Theodosiou, will remain with the company. The two partners will now be charged with driving further business development throughout the Mediterranean area for D2D, Marinetrans, and its parent company Global Transport Solutions Group (GTS).
The news marks the second such acquisition in a week by a provider of marine spare parts, following Horizon Air Freight’s move to buy the tramp ship agency Transmarine Navigation Corp.
Prior to its merger, Marinetrans already had an office in Athens, but the new move will help it gain a substantially larger presence in Greece, the firms said. “With this partnership, Marinetrans will significantly expand its foothold in the Greek and Mediterranean market, which will enable us to provide our Greek clients with more scale and service close to their home,” John Burgstra, co-CEO of GTS, said in a release. “D2D has a strong position in the Greek market, which they have gained through superior customer service and profound knowledge of the Greek maritime- and shipping industry. Teaming up with them is an important strategic step for both companies.”
D2D likewise said the acquisition would help it boost growth. In a statement, D2D said that joining forces would allow it to gain access to an international 3PL and warehousing network and to leverage GTS’ IT infrastructure, project logistics expertise, and 5PL solutions.
“Our clients will definitely reap the benefits of our companies joining forces,” D2D co-founder Michalis Theodosiou said in a release. “They will continue to be serviced by the experienced operating teams that they know and are accustomed to, while gaining access to new solutions and products on top of that. One of the services our customers have valued especially is our worldwide on-deck delivery service – and we think we can use each other’s knowledge, network and capabilities when it comes to this service.”
