The US Department of Justice has decided to approve the establishment of G2 Ocean, a joint venture (JV) of Switzerland-based shipping company Gearbulk and Norwegian Grieg Star.
Authorities in Poland, Germany and Brazil have already approved the JV, the duo said in a statement.
According to the two firms, the project is on schedule to have G2 Ocean fully operational by the end of the first half of 2017.
The JV will operate a fleet of open hatch, semi-open hatch and conventional bulk vessels, with a total of over 130 ships.
The parties revealed in October 2016 that 65% of the JV will be held by Gearbulk, while Grieg Star will hold the remaining 35%.
The JV will be formed as an independent dry bulk shipping company headquartered in Bergen, Norway, with worldwide offices.
“We anticipated such a conclusion from the authorities. But that does not mean the final approval was not received with joy. Now we roll up our sleeves and continue the hard work. Our goal is still to create a world class shipping company for the future,” Rune Birkeland, G2 Ocean’s CEO , commented.