Effective November 1, 2006, 'Safe Shipping' will be taking over all agency duties for Hamburg S'd and Alian'a in Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. In all nine countries, the services of the shipping group will be marketed under the 'Hamburg S'd' brand name in the future. In Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, 'Safe Shipping' is taking over from 'Meridian', with whom Hamburg S'd has enjoyed a successful working relationship over the years. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia, in contrast, Hamburg S'd and Alian'a will be represented for the first time. The cooperation with 'Safe Shipping' ' with whom we are already collaborating successfully ' offers the following advantages to our customers: short information channels, competent decision-making and speedy on-the-spot handling. Thanks to its close connection to the operational Hamburg S'd systems, the agency network in these countries can respond more quickly to local customer needs and will, among other things, produce significant time-saving in the operational process.