The Tribune

FREEPORT - THE management of Mediterranean Shipping Company has moved to assure the public of their commitment to both Grand Bahama and the country following claims the company was set to relocate. For more than a decade, the Mediterranean Shipping Company, one of the world's leading global shipping lines, has called the Bahamas home and over time has tranformed the way thousands of companies throughout the country do business, the management said in a statement. The success of MSC in Grand Bahama has also translated into success for the Freeport Container Port, which is one of Grand Bahama's largest employers. Due to the company's success MSC Geneva opted to expand to Nassau in late 2007, allowing Nassau retailers to connect with more than 270 ports worldwide, and ship to five continents under one Bill of Lading, saving the consumer much needed transshipment costs. "We are committed to the island," said Manuel Ruiz, general manager of MSC Bahamas. "It is unfortunate that rumours in the marketplace have created a lot of talk about us leaving. This simply is not true and we want to assure our clients and most importantly our investors we are here to stay." Mr Ruiz noted that the volume of business in the cargo industry has decreased over the last two years, but said that was to be expected with the state of the world economy. "We have spent the last 11 years growing our company from three staff to over 50," he said. "At the end of the day, we are part of the community. "The community is built and developed by the people that live in it, so it is vitally important to us to continue to contribute both from a business and a local community standpoint." MSC, which is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, has been in the shipping business since 1970. MSC Bahamas launched a new service between Port Everglades, Florida and Nassau, on October 29, 2007.