Imports of project and
breakbulk cargo into large
parts of Africa remained
steady throughout 2013 at a
similar level to that experienced
in 2012 for project specialist BBC
Chartering.
According to the company’s
global business development
officer Europe/Africa, Hendriette
Theron, breakbulk exports were
slightly weaker than the previous
year.
“Although we have built
reputable services from the Far
East, Europe and the East Coast
of South America to Africa, the
biggest challenge remains finding
sufficient breakbulk cargoes
exported from African ports on
return shipping routes,” she told
FTW. “In some cases it’s very
costly to re-position our vessels
which are opening up in southern
Africa.”
Theron says finding return
cargo remains a priority into
2014 in order to keep the routes
viable.
“We are optimistic for 2014 and
hope that several projects that
have been on the cards will come
through and have an impact on
volumes. With several mining
projects having been put on
hold this year – without a clear
indication of when or if they will
move forward – we are hoping
to see more projects take off
resulting in more export cargo,”
she said. “The infrastructure
projects that are under way in
a number of southern African
countries are very interesting
for us and promise to push up
the import volumes into these
countries significantly.”
She said while several
challenges – including piracy
along the East and West coasts
and port congestion – continued
to plague Africa, the outlook
for the continent was extremely
positive.
“Africa will remain a big
market of interest in the
foreseeable future thanks to the
abundance of projects in the
pipeline. To what extent these
projects will be realised and
developed is yet to be seen and
will definitely be inf luenced by
the stability of the governments
in the different African
countries,” said Theron. “At the
same time the issue of piracy
and port congestion needs to
be addressed. Piracy remains a
concern and is a risk factor on
both the East and West coasts.
In the Gulf of Nigeria especially
it has become very problematic
of late.”
Theron said port congestion,
especially on the West Coast, was
also starting to impact – not only
because of the added costs but
because it caused delays in the
delivery of cargoes booked for the
subsequent ports of call on the
voyage.
INSERT & CAPTION
Finding return cargo
remains a priority into 2014
in order to keep the routes
viable.
– Hendriette Theron
CAPTION
Catering for the abundance of projects ... BBC Chartering’s specialist fleet.
