Rickmers-Linie, the Hamburg based liner service specialist for breakbulk, heavy lift and project cargoes takes over the activities of tramp and chartering specialist Nordana Project & Chartering with offices in Copenhagen, Bangkok, Singapore and Houston. The business will continue under the name and brand “NPC” and become an independent division supplementing the Rickmers-Linie segment within the Rickmers Group effective 1 July 2016. In the new arrangement NPC will operate a multipurpose heavy lift fleet worldwide in the size range between 8,000 and 21,000 dwt with a lifting capacity of up to 500 tonnes.  The core fleet will be made up of Nordana’s 12,000 dwt heavy lift vessels and will include Thai flag vessels. NPC will be managed by Lars Steen Rasmussen (Copenhagen) and Torben Reinhard (Bangkok) and will be a separate entity within the Rickmers-Linie segment.             The takeover of NPC through Rickmers-Linie comes a year after Nordana Project & Chartering nominated Rickmers (Japan) as their sole General Agent in Japan as a result of which NPC could considerably increase the number of calls at Japanese ports. In March this year Nordana nominated Rickmers-Linie as its representative in China. The successful cooperation between the two companies has since led to the joint idea to further increase the complementary effects between liner and tramp, which adds value to the customer base of both companies. Both Rickmers-Linie and NPC are renowned for their innovative approach and tailor made solutions for their customers. Ulrich Ulrichs, CEO of Rickmers-Linie said: “Working together with NPC in our ventures in Japan and China has shown that we fit together really well, both product, and service-wise, as well as with the team spirit and working climates within our companies. We reviewed and soon agreed that we should expand our cooperation, which eventually led to Rickmers-Linie taking over the NPC business.” Lars Steen Rasmussen, the designated CEO of NPC added: “We are convinced that many of our esteemed customers will value the combination that is now on offer. We are looking forward to further developing existing customer relations and developing new business for both companies.”