operator.

The competition authorities in Sweden and Finland gave Sea Containers the green light last week to buy a majority shareholding in Neptun Maritime Oyj.

Last year Neptun Maritime had total revenue of $647 million and carried 5.8 million passengers, 350,000 cars, 13,000 buses and 123,000 freight vehicles on its Baltic services.

The new acquisition also owns three pure cruise vessels, two of which are based in the Caribbean and the third in Hong Kong.

These ships are on bareboat charter at profitable rates -- with charters on two of the vessels recently extended for several years.

The annual shareholders meeting of the company will go ahead in Helsinki on Wednesday.

Sea Containers president James Sherwood is expected to be proposed as the Baltic ferry operator's new chairman.

BUSINESS BUC