OSLO, Norway--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Port of Oslo has chosen the Turkish logistics and industrial company Yilport Holding as the new container terminal operator in Oslo.

The company won a competition in which four other international companies were bidders. The new operator will take over the operation of the container traffic in the port of Oslo late 2014 or early 2015. The agreement has a term of 20 years, but an option is in place for a 10 year extension to this.

The operator

Yilport Holding is part of the international family-run industrial and trade company Yildirim Group, which is based in Istanbul, Turkey. The company, established in 1963, is engaged in manufacturing and mining, trade, shipping, shipbuilding and port operations. The company has 8,000 employees. Yilport Holding operates two container terminals in Turkey and has a 50% stake in Malta Freeport Terminal. In 2014, they took over the operation of Gävle Container Terminal, one of the most effectively run container terminals in Sweden.

- We have chosen the international company Yilport Holding because we believe that they are the best choice to operate and develop the largest and most modern container terminal in Norway. The Port of Oslo aims to be a competitive and efficient port for the future. Our goal is to receive twice as much cargo as we do today, in order to supply an ever-growing population in the Oslo area. Yilport Holding was selected based on both economic and commercial criteria, says Port Director Anne Sigrid Hamran.

The new company will lease space and cranes from the Port of Oslo. The operator will also hold employer responsibility for the crane operators, which until now have been employed by the Port Authority.

The Port Authority Board decided on 24 October 2013 that the crane operators shall be transferred to the new terminal operator through a business transfer. When the operator gets a unified responsibility for all operations and the staff at the terminal, a more efficient and smooth operation of the terminal is expected.

- The efficiency of terminals and their optimal organization are essential to ensure that more cargo is transported by sea. We anticipate that collaboration will be easier when terminal employees and crane operators have one employer only. This way of organizing the workforce at the terminal is considered to be vital for the competitiveness and effectiveness of the port. We acknowledge that obtaining a new employer can be experienced as an uncertain and challenging situation by our employees. We would like to stress that the new operator has a policy of hiring local terminal managers. Moreover, we have stressed in the negotiation process that the operator must comply with Norwegian law generally, not least Norwegian labour laws, says Anne Sigrid Hamran.

The dock workers at Oslo loading- and unloading office are not covered by the agreement with the new operator.

About the container traffic in Oslo

The Port is building Norway’s largest and most modern container terminal in order to concentrate all the containers in Oslo at Sjursøya in 2015. Today there are two container terminals, at Sjursøya and Ormsund, operated by OCT / SCT.

Half of the Norwegian population lives less than three hours’ drive from the port of Oslo. Oslo's population continues to grow. Port of Oslo is extending the cargo port in order to supply the population with the goods they request. Today the port has the capacity to handle 260,000 containers (TEU, equivalent to 20 foot containers). When the new container terminal is completed, the port may in the future manage a total of 450,000 containers (TEU). In 2015/2016 the terminal is scheduled to have a capacity of 300,000 / 350,000 TEU.