On 15 August, we formally celebrated the closing of the acquisition of Westwood Shipping Lines. We were delighted to welcome Mr Takanori Ono (President and Chief Executive Officer), Mr Katsunori So (Managing Executive Officer) and Mr Tadataka Sato (Managing Director) from Sumitomo Warehouse to our headquarters in Singapore and join us at the ceremony.

Mr Ono, Mr Jack Mahoney (Chief Executive Officer of Westwood) and our Managing Director Mr Jeremy Sutton, delivered the opening speeches. Following this, we commemorated the occasion with Kagami Biraki, the ceremonial breaking open of a sake barrel, and a toast to a stronger relationship with both Westwood and Sumitomo Warehouse in the years to come.

Over the past months we worked closely with the teams at Sumitomo Warehouse and Westwood to bring this to fruition and in ensuring a smooth transition to Swire Shipping. Well done to the project teams in Puyallup and Singapore for successfully facilitating and closing the acquisition. We are thankful for the trust Mr Ono and Sumitomo Warehouse have placed in Swire Shipping, in passing us the baton to continue to build a successful and thriving Westwood brand.

This acquisition, made in our 150th year of operations this year, will always hold a special place in our history.