Global shipping agency GAC is expanding into the Australian market, opening 13 offices nationally this week, including three in Western Australia.
Global shipping agency GAC is expanding into the Australian market, opening 13 offices nationally this week, including three in Western Australia.
The Dubai-headquartered company has established ship agency services at Fremantle, Dampier and Port Hedland ports, in addition to five offices in Queensland, three offices in New South Wales, and offices in Melbourne and Adelaide.
GAC national operations manager Scott Henderson said the company had wanted to establish a presence in Australia and felt there was an opportunity for a medium-sized player due to recent merger activity in the shipping agency sector.
“We felt that with the consolidation of agencies over the last three years, where quite a few agencies have disappeared, there was certainly room in the market for another player,” Mr Henderson said.
Until July, the company had a group network alliance with international ship agency Oceania Maritime Services (OMS) Pty Ltd, which was owned by P&O subsidiary Beaufort Shipping Agency Company.
However, the alliance was terminated after OMS was bought by Inchcape Shipping Services, a company in direct competition with GAC.
Currently, Inchcape Shipping Services and Barwil Agencies Australia have a 75 per cent market share in Australia.
Mr Henderson said GAC planned to build a solid base over the next year, through steady growth rather than acquisitions.
“We expect to maintain our current pricing and just offer better service for the price, rather than undercut a market which has had shrinking margins over the past 10 to 15 years,” he said.
Mr Henderson said the company planned to take advantage of the significant growth in exports in recent years, led by the energy and resources sectors and driven by demand from China and India.
In WA, iron ore exports reached 258.3 million tonnes last financial year, and have been forecast to more than double that figure over the next 10 years.
Dry bulk and LNG exports will also be a major focus of GAC’s operations initially, particularly servicing LNG tankers in Dampier and Darwin.
“We look after Chevron’s interests in Dampier and we do see that as a growth area,” Mr Henderson said.
In its other international markets, GAC offers fire, marine logistics and weather routing services, although the company plans to delay the introduction of those in Australia.
“In the first instance we’ll just provide agency services, however within 12 months I fully expect us to be expanding into other sectors,” Mr Henderson said.
While logistics and freight forwarding will ultimately be introduced in the Fremantle office, Dampier and Port Hedland will retain agency services for now.
GAC, which did not previously have an office locally, will base its Australian operations in Sydney.
Established as Gulf Agency Company in the mid-1950s in Kuwait, the company employs about 7,000 people and has operations at more than 1,000 locations worldwide.
The roll-out of GAC’s Australian offices is the company’s biggest single launch to date, and follows the establishment of full-office operations in China and Norway earlier this year.
