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Delmas (shipping company)
Encyclopedia
Delmas Shipping, based in Le Havre
, France
, is a containerized-freight
and ro-ro shipping company, mainly carrying trade between western Europe
and Africa
. It is the largest cargo carrier between European and African ports, and Europe's oldest extant shipping line.
The company operates a fleet of 49 vessels with a collective capacity of , on 15 routes between Europe, Africa and the Indian Ocean
. It is part of the CMA CGM
group of transportation firms, having been acquired from the Bolloré Group for €470 million in 2005.
. In 1910 the company was renamed Delmas Vieljeaux after its president, joint owner and Mayor of La Rochelle, Leonce Vieljeux
.
The first Delmas shipyard opened in 1922 and international shipping began in 1925 with imports of mahogany
from the African state of Gabon
for use in boxes for storage of butter and cheese. After World War II
the company relocated to Le Havre and began to specialise in Africa-European trade. It was acquired by the Bolloré Group in a hostile takeover in 1996, but a series of restructures led to a loss of market share and the sacking of 140 staff.
In September 2005 the company was sold to CMA CGM
for €470 million. The sale was supported by the Delmas workforce after CMA CGM agreed to a package including no forced redundancies and the retention of the Le Havre offices and Delmas branding.
In February 2010, Delmas was put in the spotlight for its involvement in the shipment of illegally logged rainforest wood from Madagascar.
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, is a containerized-freight
Containerization
Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
and ro-ro shipping company, mainly carrying trade between western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. It is the largest cargo carrier between European and African ports, and Europe's oldest extant shipping line.
The company operates a fleet of 49 vessels with a collective capacity of , on 15 routes between Europe, Africa and the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
. It is part of the CMA CGM
CMA CGM
CMA CGM S.A. is a French container transportation and shipping company, headed by Jacques Saadé. It is the third largest container company in the world, using 200 shipping routes between 400 ports in 150 different countries...
group of transportation firms, having been acquired from the Bolloré Group for €470 million in 2005.
History
Delmas Freres was founded in 1867 to transport coal and raw materials from the French port of La RochelleLa Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
. In 1910 the company was renamed Delmas Vieljeaux after its president, joint owner and Mayor of La Rochelle, Leonce Vieljeux
Léonce Vieljeux
Léonce Vieljeux was a colonel in the French reserve army, industrialist and mayor of La Rochelle.-Life:...
.
The first Delmas shipyard opened in 1922 and international shipping began in 1925 with imports of mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
from the African state of Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
for use in boxes for storage of butter and cheese. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the company relocated to Le Havre and began to specialise in Africa-European trade. It was acquired by the Bolloré Group in a hostile takeover in 1996, but a series of restructures led to a loss of market share and the sacking of 140 staff.
In September 2005 the company was sold to CMA CGM
CMA CGM
CMA CGM S.A. is a French container transportation and shipping company, headed by Jacques Saadé. It is the third largest container company in the world, using 200 shipping routes between 400 ports in 150 different countries...
for €470 million. The sale was supported by the Delmas workforce after CMA CGM agreed to a package including no forced redundancies and the retention of the Le Havre offices and Delmas branding.
In February 2010, Delmas was put in the spotlight for its involvement in the shipment of illegally logged rainforest wood from Madagascar.