Lloyd Triestino to take on a new global identity. P L Maneschi, Chairman of Lloyd Triestino di Navigazione SpA, has announced that with effect from 1 March 2006 the name of the shipping company will be changed to Italia Marittima SpA.

Mr Maneschi said the new name Italia Marittima SpA reflects the company's ambitions to strengthen its Italian national identity worldwide whilst recognising almost 170 years' presence of Lloyd Triestino in the international shipping market.

At the time the shipping company was established, on 2 August 1836, Trieste and the port were part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and the original name of the company was Oesterreicher Lloyd. On 3 January 1919, shortly after World War I, the name changed to Lloyd Triestino. The company continued as before, operating passenger and cargo vessels, being a leader on its traditional routes to the Indian Sub Continent, Africa and the Far East.

In the 1970s, when containerisation started a revolution in cargo transportation and passenger liners were replaced by airlines, Lloyd Triestino, with its new vessels, became a pioneer in the containerised shipping business.

In 1998, following the Italian Government's decision to privatise many state-owned companies, Lloyd Triestino was acquired by Taiwanese shipping giant, the Evergreen Group.

Today, with a modern fleet including some of the largest containerships plying the seas, Lloyd Triestino has considerably expanded its service network and connects almost every major port around the world.

Mr Maneschi confirmed that, as part of its commitment to customer satisfaction, Italia Marittima, with the same company management and staff members, will maintain it's high performance standards.