Maersk adds East Africa calls on Asia loop

   Maersk Line is adding two calls to a service connecting its Southeast Asia hub of Tanjung Pelepas with southeastern Africa.
   The line’s Safari 2 service, which it jointly runs with subsidiary line Safmarine, will add a call at Beira and a second call at Toamasina in mid-October. The revised rotation will be Tanjung Pelepas, Port Louis, Port Reunion, Toamasina, Maputo, Beira, Toamasina, and Tanjung Pelepas.
   Safmarine said a sixth vessel will be added to the service to accommodate the extra port calls. According to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data, the service is currently operated with five vessels (all from Maersk) with an average capacity of 1,680 TEUs.
   Alan Mileham, Safmarine’s Far East-South Africa trade manager, said all of the line’s Beira imports/exports will move to the expanded service, which Safmarine calls Safari 3.
   “Until now the majority of eastbound cargo shipped from central and northern Mozambique and neighboring countries (Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi) via Beira (in Mozambique) has had to move via feeder vessel to Durban, from where it was shipped on the Safari 1 service to the Far East,” Mileham said. “By adding a direct call at Beira and an export Toamasina call on Safari 3, cargo from these regions can now move directly through local ports to the Far East, allowing for quicker access to markets and added convenience for shippers.”
   Mileham said the new calls will particularly benefit the mining and agricultural commodity sectors in these regions, and that they are being introduced in response to customer demand.
   “In recent years we’ve seen volumes of cargo shipped via Beira grow by more than 30 percent per annum,” he said. “The growth can, in part, be largely attributed to the increased demand in the Far East for southern African agricultural products and minerals, as well as infrastructural and commercial investments in countries such as Zambia.”
   ComPair Data’s research shows the new service is similar in rotation to a loop from Singapore-based carrier PIL. The line’s IOM service has a rotation of Singapore, Toamasina, Maputo, Beira, Pasir Gudang, and Singapore, though the service is not always regularly offered.
   ComPair Data Chief Analyst Francis Phillips said the Asia-Africa is a key growth trade for Maersk, while some top 10 lines based in Asia have a gap in their network when it comes to direct Asia-east Africa links.
   Maersk and Safmarine introduced the Safari 2/Safari 3 loop in July 2009.  — Eric Johnson