The Little Mermaid is back home from Expo in China

The statue of the famous fairy tale figure “The Little Mermaid” is now back in Denmark after her first ever journey abroad - to Expo in Shanghai, China. Saturday November 20, she will be placed back on her stone at Langelinie in Copenhagen. The Danish company Damco secured her safe transportation to and from China.

In a direct straight line the distance from Shanghai to Copenhagen is 8.263 kilometers. This is too long a flight for both “The Nightingale” and “The Flying Trunk” and too long a swim even for a fairy tale mermaid. The Danish authorities therefore put Damco - a global logistics service provider and an independent part of the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group - in charge of the logistic challenge of transporting this national treasure back home.

Damco also secured her safe arrival in China more than six months ago, when The Little Mermaid embarked on her very first journey away from home, since she was placed on her waterfront stone almost 100 years ago - in August 1913.

The Little Mermaid had a successful stay at the Denmark Pavilion at the Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China, where she was the centre of attention for the 5.6 million visitors - equal to the present population of Denmark.

Damco made sure that the renowned bronze figure was securely packed, transported to the airport and made it safely through security and customs, before being loaded on to the plane from Singapore Airlines. All in all, Damco had the fine little lady under surveillance 24 hours a day until her safe arrival in Copenhagen.

“We are very pleased to have been chosen to transport this valuable sculpture to the Expo in China and back again to Denmark. We have taken every precaution to secure her safe arrival in Denmark, as we do with every job a customer gives us,” said Rolf Habben-Jansen, Chief Executive Officer, Damco.

At Expo 2010 the many visitors have had the rare opportunity of seeing the small fairy tale figure far away from her home and that of her “father” – the Danish author and poet Hans Christian Andersen. His renowned fairy tales – including that of “The Little Mermaid” written in 1836 - have been translated into more than 150 languages and are even today being enjoyed all over the world by children and adults alike.

The attached picture: This picture of the Little Mermaid was taken yesterday at her secret hiding place where she – following her long trip back home - is being made ready to be transported back to her waterfront stone at ‘Langelinie’ in Copenhagen on Saturday November 20, 2010 from 14:00 till 15:00.

About Damco

Damco is one of the world’s leading logistics providers and offers a broad range of supply chain management and freight forwarding services to customers all over the world, has 10,500 employees in over 280 owned offices across 90 countries with representation in 120 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, Europe, Middle East, and Latin America. In 2009, the company had a net turnover of over USD 2.0 billion, managed more than 2.3 million TEU of ocean freight and supply chain management volumes and air freighted more than 60,000 tons. Damco is an independent business activity within the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group. For more information, please visit www.damco.com