Neptune Pacific Line, the provider of ocean freight services between Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, said that it has acquired Pacific Direct Line(PDL) from its Singapore based parent holding company, Pacific International Lines (PIL).

The acquisition makes Neptune the new owners of all of PDL’s regional and Fiji based companies. The combined business will seamlessly link transport, warehousing, depots and customs clearance services and fully integrate customers’ supply chains across 18 South Pacific markets, it said in a press note.

"This purchase supports our long-term vision of creating the strongest and best regional network of shipping and logistics services in the Pacific Islands,” said Rolf Rasmussen, Managing Director of Neptune.

“By acquiring PDL, we can further develop our mainline shipping network to provide fixed-day services and increase the utilization of our combined fleet, enabling us to continue to offer competitive freight rates. PDL’s extensive logistics network will allow us to support our customers across their entire supply chain needs,” Rolf  added.

Teo Siong Seng, Executive Chairman and Managing Director of PIL said: “The divestment of PDL is part of our strategic move that enables PIL to focus its resources on growing in the key liner markets that it operates in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South America. We will continue to improve our liner services between Asia and Oceania including the South Pacific Islands.”

PDL currently operates throughout the South Pacific region and specializes in providing liner shipping services from New Zealand and Australia to the South Pacific Islands. With the acquisition of PDL, Neptune will now have a specialized fleet of nine vessels dedicated to South Pacific Island trades and a team of more than 800, most of whom are based in supply chain services in the region.