DELMAS AND OTAL REALIGN SERVICES

DELMAS AND OTAL REALIGN SERVICES    West Africa trades specialist Delmas, of France, will align more closely its two container and roll-on/roll-off services for North Europe/West Africa with two operated by its subsidiary, U.K.-based O.T. Africa Line.
   The companies will exchange slots on respective services, subject to pre-determined limits, while keeping their separate marketing brand names. Vessels and equipment will be managed in a common pool.
   Both operators will retain their respective ro/ro services. O.T. Africa’s three-ship 13-day ro/ro string becomes “Roro North,” complementing and competing with Delmas’ eight-day “Roro South,” which extends further south in West Africa.
   “Roro South” will now have two former O.T. Africa ships in its fleet of six vessels.
   On the container side, O.T. Africa will manage a container string under the former Delmas name of “Direct North,” with an 11-day frequency, adding a fourth ship. Delmas will supply two of the four vessels. Delmas will continue its weekly “Hebdo” container service with its seven container ships.
   Revised schedules are being drawn up to begin on Feb. 21.
   A spokesman for the lines said the changes represented a streamlining and were also a response to changes in the market. A coup d’etat in Cote d’Ivoire and a slump in Abidjan’s cocoa prices are two key elements, he said.
   There was an opportunity to add new ship calls in ports like Leixoes, Portugal, Casablanca, Morocco, and Freetown, Monrovia, he said. Besides the four strings now being reorganized, Delmas also operates a fifth southbound-only conbulk service between Europe and West Africa.