SAECS partners adding 7th ship

SAECS partners adding 7th ship A seventh ship is being added to one of two Europe/South Africa services operated jointly by Maersk Line, Safmarine Container Lines, Deutsche Afrika-Linien, and MOL in order overcome operational delays at ports and maintain a weekly frequency.
   The 3,700-TEU Lica Maersk, which has 1,118 TEUs reefer capacity, will join the South Africa Europe Container Service (SAECS) Core Service on Nov. 11.
   'The partner lines in the Europe/South Africa trade have made a substantial investment in acquiring an additional vessel in order to ensure all our customers — including fruit exporters — receive a more reliable service during the peak season,” said Alex de Bruyn, Safmarine's South Africa trades executive.
   The current port rotation for the SAECS Core Service is Tilbury, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Las Palmas, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Cape Town, Las Palmas and back to Tilbury.
   The consortium’s other service is the SAECS Intermediate Service, which calls Thamesport, Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Le Havre, Lisbon, Cape Town, East London, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Lisbon and Thamesport.