MATSON Inc has signed an agreement to acquire the primary assets of the Reef Shipping, an Auckland-based shipping company based that has been in business since 1968.

Reef Shipping is part of the Reef Group, which has been in receivership since November 26, when Colin McCloy and David Bridgman, partners in PwC New Zealand, were appointed receivers.

 The Reef Shipping assets to be acquired by Matson include four vessels and 1,500 pieces of container equipment. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, a report by New York's MarineLog said.

 "While the purchase itself is relatively small, it complements our growing network of Pacific island services," said Matson president and CEO Matt Cox.

 After this acquisition, the company will continue to provide service to Reef's core trade lanes from Auckland, New Zealand and Fiji to the island nations of Nauru, the Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga, Wallis and Futuna, Vanuatu, Tarawa and Majuro, all of which are new markets for Matson.

(Source:shipping news)