Horizon Lines extends agreements with Maersk

Horizon Lines extends agreements with Maersk

   Horizon Lines said Monday it has renewed all of its commercial and operating arrangements with Maersk through 2010.

   Horizon and Maersk have agreements that include cargo space charters, terminal services, equipment sharing and sales agency services, Horizon noted. The agreements had been scheduled to expire at the end of 2007, but have been extended with additional extension options at the request of both parties.

   'We are very pleased to extend our commercial and operating agreements with Maersk for an additional three years,' said Chuck Raymond, chairman, president and chief executive officer. 'Horizon Lines and Maersk have been partners since our company began operations on December 10, 1999. These various agreements provide operational and financial benefits to Horizon Lines and Maersk, and truly represent a 'win-win' for both companies.'

   'This is a new milestone in an important and mutually beneficial partnership,” said Russ Bruner, president and chief executive officer of Maersk Inc., the Maersk Line unit that serves as the U.S. agent for the company. 'This agreement will continue a long lasting and well established relationship that has been a key element of the excellent container shipping services provided by both companies over the last seven years.'

   Horizon Lines provides Jones Act services to Puerto Rico, Alaska, Hawaii and Guam. Those domestic services were left out of the 1999 Maersk/Sea-Land deal, which dealt with Sea-Land's international services. The two companies had close operating relationships for years before the acquisition.