Comment / Under the radar: A Taipan dips his toes in the shipping waters

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Looking for an alternative take on how new entrants to liner shipping can develop networks? The story of a resurgent Swire Shipping, after completing its takeover of US multipurpose carrier Westwood Shipping, offers one example.

As part of the privately owned John Swire & Sons group (although one part of it, Swire Pacific is listed in Hong Kong), it’s hardly new. In fact, its name evokes the age of the Tai’pan – a name given to foreign businessmen who poured into ...