Swire Shipping and Swire Bulk come on Board as a Major Sponsor for the FRU

The Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) today announced Swire Shipping, as a major sponsor for the FRU with naming rights to the Fiji Warriors and the Fiji Tuwawa Tens Team.

FRU CEO, John O’Connor said that they were excited to seal the deal with the globally renowned shipping company, for the next three years.

“I would like to thank Swire Shipping for coming on board as a major sponsor for the FRU and the two teams. This partnership will give our brand a stronger global presence and it is fantastic to add another quality member to our Fiji Rugby family,” O’Connor added.

“Swire Shipping’s support at this time is hugely appreciated and we feel the synergy between our organisations as leaders in our respective fields is sure to establish a long and winning relationship.”

Swire Shipping will feature on the front of both the Fiji Warriors and Fiji Tuwawa Team playing and training jersey’s.

“The Swire Shipping Fiji Warriors team will play against Uruguay, Argentina and Italy in the 2018 Nations Cup from June 2-10 in Uruguay and the playing and training jerseys will feature the Swire Shipping logo, for the very first time at that tournament” O’Connor said.

In addition to supporting the on-field performance of the Fiji Warriors and Fiji Tuwawa, Swire Shipping will provide essential support for all of FRU’s elite teams.

“They are already arranging the shipping of new gym equipment for the Fiji Airways Flying Fijians June test campaign, departing this Friday from overseas. They will also replace the storage containers at Rugby House in the coming weeks by providing new ones with their branding.”

“This relationship will also give us capacity to import seats, scaffolding, containers and other equipment for the Prince Charles Park makeover, should we win the rights to host a leg of the HSBC World Sevens.”

Speaking at the announcement, Swire Shipping Regional Manager-Pacific Islands Chris de Villiers said, “Swire Shipping is proud to be an official sponsor of the Fiji Warriors. As a global provider of sustainable shipping solutions, we want to support our communities and help them thrive. In the Pacific islands, we run a Swire Sport programme to help grow and develop sports such as cricket and rugby in the region. Today’s sponsorship of Fiji’s national sport underscores Swire Shipping’s ongoing commitment to the community in Fiji.

“Swire is already involved in local community rugby development with our support of the Daveta Rugby Club in Cuvu. When approached by the FRU to consider sponsoring the Fiji Warriors, Swire Shipping saw this as an opportunity to become further involved in the community and rugby development.”   

Swire Shipping is the liner shipping division of The China Navigation Company (CNCo), the shipping arm of the Swire group. Besides Swire Shipping, CNCo also operates a global network of dry bulk services through its handysize dry bulk division, Swire Bulk. The company has provided sustainable shipping solutions for 146 years, in particular, connecting Fiji to the rest of the world since 1958, bringing wheat to Lautoka and Suva, and shipping Fiji sugar from Lautoka to the United Kingdom. The company opened a branch in Fiji in May 2017.

Chris de Villiers of Swire Shipping with FRU CEO John O’Connor and FRU GM Commercial Brian Thorburn

About Swire Shipping and Swire Bulk

Swire Shipping is the liner shipping division of The China Navigation Company (CNCo) and operates multiple liner trades in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, North America and the nations of the South Pacific, in addition to providing services to India, the Middle-East and Europe. Swire Shipping’s network of services operates a versatile fleet of multipurpose ships capable of carrying a wide range of cargoes including containerised, refrigerated, project, breakbulk and heavylift cargoes.

Swire Bulk runs a balanced fleet of owned and long term chartered tonnage with a focus on the handysize segment. It aims to create value from the competitive advantage derived through modern and fuel efficient ship designs, and long term relationships with cargo charterers and industrial shippers.

For more information on Swire Shipping and Swire Bulk, please visit www.swirecnco.com.

Both the teams will now be known as:

“Swire Shipping Fiji Warriors” and “Swire Shipping Fiji Tuwawa”