Breadbox Shipping Lines has strengthened its service to West Africa with the addition of five vessels to its fleet. According to inter-Africa trade manager William Douni, this expansion was undertaken despite the rough economic environment brought on by Covid-19.“We have added two 3000 gearless coasters, a 4 500-geared tonner and two geared 8 000-ton multipurpose vessels,” he told Freight News. “The strategy behind the introduction of these vessels into our f leet is to become less dependent and more resistant to the fluctuations of charter rates on the market. We also did not want to take any tonnage away from our existing coastal f leet – which is dedicated to some of our historic partners – whilst still working towards becoming more active in some of the mining as well as oil and gas projects along the West African coast.”He said the shipping line had for years been committed to strengthening its position on the West African routes and was continuously looking at building long-lasting relationships with its clients and investing in its f leet.“The shipping environment in West Africa, however, has always been quite challenging,” said Douni. “Those few carriers that have lasted all these years have done so because of their ability to see opportunities in these challenges and by remaining highly f lexible in the way they operate in the region. ”He said congestion remained the top challenge. “There’s congestion at every port we call. Despite the booming economies in many We st African countries, master plans for new port expansion and development continue to lag behind – not only in terms of planning but also execution.”The need for new ports and port development, however, remained high, he said.One project was the Port du Future planned in Dakar-Ndayane in Senegal which will alleviate much of the pressure on the commercial port in Dakar – a necessity if this country wants to end congestion.“In the Port of Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire, for example, carriers sometimes face weeks of waiting in anchorage due to congestion despite the many recent renovations in that port. The same goes for the Port of Conakry in Guinea where carriers almost systematically have to build into their freight rates the numerous waiting days to berth.”More recently, said Douni, countries like Mauritania, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire had faced major strikes from dockers. “These situations, as we’ve experienced ourselves, can paralyse all maritime activities for weeks. Besides the costs of idle days for vessels, the inevitable restructuring by the dockers' unions inevitably ends up in higher stevedoring costs for carriers. “The challenge for us is to find the right balance between absorbing these additional costs versus pushing freight rates up without losing considerable market share.”Commenting on trends in the West African shipping environment, Douni said there was more consolidation and integration taking place between shipping lines, port operators and logistics companies. “The recent deepsea port construction at the Kribi port in Cameroon is an example of this. There are 262 square kilometres available for new industrial and logistical developments.”Breadbox, said Douni, had been investing in more facilities, most recently in a 30 000-sqm bonded terminal in Dakar in Senegal.“This will help avoid congestion in the port due to lack of storage space, but it is also aimed at showing our clients we are willing and able to offer the entire door-to-door solution.”Douni said volumes were difficult to predict considering shipping had come to a near standstill in 2020.“We are seeing things starting to pick up slowly, but we are not at pre-pandemic levels yet. “Construction seems to be regaining some of its foothold in West Africa which translates into higher volumes of import steel from Turkey and more timber moving on our inter-Africa service.”The pandemic, however, has introduced new shipping patterns.West AfricaAt Conakry port in Guinea carriers almost systematically have to build into their freight rates the numerous waiting days to berth.– William Douni “
