GE Shipping buys 26% in USL

United Shippers owns and operates over 70 barges and nine tugs.

Great Eastern Shipping Company (GE Shipping) has acquired a 26 per cent stake in city-based barging and cargo handling firm United Shippers Ltd (USL) for an undisclosed amount.

GE Shipping's General Manager (planning) Rajat T Dutta and USL Managing Director Sunil Parekh confirmed the deal but declined to divulge the financial details.

Dutta said GE Shipping had no plans to get involved in the day-to-day activities or send a representative to the USL board.

Parekh said the proceeds from the sale of stake would be used to fund the company's expansion plans. It planned to set up a container freight station and a railway siding to handle containers near Mumbai.

"We had evaluated various options to raise funds for our expansion plans. However, the partnering with GE Shipping makes sense as the company knows the dry bulk trade," Parekh added.

USL is a closely held company. With operational headquarters at Jamnagar (Gujarat), USL owns and operates over 70 barges and nine tugs along with other port equipment and truck fleet.

The company is also into cargo chartering and has handled over 3 million tonnes of cargo last year.