NORDEN has acquired the cargo activities of Taylor Maritime in Southern Africa (previously operated under the IVS brand).

As part of the acquisition, NORDEN takes over the specialist parcelling team based in Durban, South Africa, headed by Brandon Paul, who together with his team will continue to service customers on parcel trades from South Africa.

“We are delighted that Brandon and his team join NORDEN as we are committed to further grow our activity and customer offering in Southern Africa as a global provider of ocean-based freight services for bulk and project cargo of all sizes,” says NORDEN CEO Jan Rindbo. “With a fleet of over 400 vessels, we are looking to further expand our business in the region and offer our customers fully flexible solutions.”

Local presence and close partnerships
The Durban office becomes NORDEN’s third on the African continent, joining our existing offices in Ivory Coast and Gabon. The region has great potential for NORDEN due to the growing mining sector as well as hosting some of the fastest growing economies in the world. To unlock this potential, we believe local presence is required to develop close partnerships with customers and other key stakeholders in the region.

Building the specialist parcelling customer offering
The acquisition is NORDEN’s third, in as many years, following the 2023 acquisition of the activities of Thorco Projects and the 2024 acquisition of Nordic parcelling firm Norlat Shipping, both of which are today fully integrated into the Freight Services & Trading (FST) business unit.

“Today’s acquisition is thereby another strengthening of our parcelling strategy, creating a more customer-centric company,” adds Jan Rindbo.“The project cargo business is more specialised and niche than our traditional shipping activities, calling for specialist knowledge, customisation and differentiation. We look forward to bringing these services to even more customers across the world.”

The acquisition sum is undisclosed and will not affect our guidance for full-year 2025. The acquisition has received the necessary merger clearance.