Volvo Ocean Race Names GAC Official Logistics Provider

GAC, together with their partner Team Pindar, will provide a complete logistics support package, working closely with the Race’s shipping provider, for the 12th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race in 2014-15. The services will include customs clearance and transportation of pavilions and hospitality infrastructure, broadcast and other support equipment from the ports to the Race Villages over the course of nine months, starting in October next year.

Formed in 2011, GAC Pindar is a strategic partnership between global logistics, marine and shipping services provider GAC Group and professional sailing team Team Pindar. A leading provider in the specialist field of marine leisure logistics, it offers a range of services including yacht transportation, superyacht fuel, air ocean and land freight, yacht spare logistics, sailing event management and ships agency. At sailing venues around the world, it works closely with teams from GAC’s offices to ensure delivery of its full range of services.

William Hill, GAC’s Executive Group Vice President – Commercial, said: "We have the unique advantage of a deep understanding of the needs of sailing teams, the movement of their boats and the sailing events, combined with the global resources and reach of the GAC Group.

"We are honoured and excited by the challenge and opportunity that the Volvo Ocean Race represents."

GAC Pindar Team Principal Andrew Pindar added: “Back in 2010, we set out to create a new business dedicated to bringing extraordinary service and value to the world of boats and yachts. As a sailing race and team sponsor of over 30 years standing we knew the need for a supplier who understood the needs and language of sailing and the global events which they have become. The GAC Pindar team is made up of sailors and logisticians with a profound understanding of this specialist sport.”

Founded 40 years ago in 1973, the Volvo Ocean Race pits teams of professional yachtsmen and women against one another as they race day and night for weeks at a time through the world’s oceans in the ultimate test of sailing skill and endurance.

Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad said: “Logistics management is absolutely crucial to the operational delivery of the Volvo Ocean Race. The logistics challenges presented by a race visiting multiple countries in five continents over nine months are huge and to meet those challenges we need a world class partner with a proven track record. GAC fits that profile perfectly.”

The 12th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, which began life in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race, will start from Alicante, Spain on 4 October 2014. The teams will cover 39,379 nautical miles before the finish in Gothenburg, Sweden and a final In-Port Race on 27 June 2015.