Maersk-Safmarine start Asia/West Africa link

Maersk-Safmarine start Asia/West Africa link    Maersk Line and subsidiary Safmarine said this week they will launch a joint loop connecting the Far East with southern and western Africa.
   The FEW3 service will have a rotation of Shanghai, Yantian, Nansha, Tanjung Pelepas, Durban, Pointe Noire, Tin Can Island, Durban and Shanghai. The carriers said number and size of vessels to be deployed on the service has yet to be announced, but the loop is scheduled to begin Aug. 12.
   The call at Lagos' Tin Can Island terminal on the new service will mean the two lines will drop a similar call at Tin Can Island on their FEW1 service, which also connects the Far East and West Africa. Safmarine said the dropped Tin Can Island call would allow for more space on the FEW1 for cargo destined for Lome, Togo, and Contonou, Benin.
   “Not only will FEW3 significantly improve transit times to Pointe Noire and Matadi, through a direct call to Pointe Noire, but it will also make a direct call at Tin Can Island in Nigeria,” said Dirk Geens, Safmarine’s Africa trade director.
   Geens said the FEW3 service’s call in Durban would also be used to offer additional space to Safmarine’s southern Africa customers.
   “FEW 3 will allow us to offer additional space, during the traditionally high volume peak months, to South African exporters and importers trading with the Far East and intra-Africa,” he said.