Exporters and importers are making use of virtual short-sea shipping corridors connecting ports up both the eastern and western coasts of Africa.One of the companies is Contra Consolidations, which provides regular direct services out of Cape Town to Luanda, Tema, Abidjan and Lagos on the west coast, and Maputo, Beira, Mombasa on the east coast, with Port Louis providing a gateway to the Indian Ocean islands.Cargo is being routed from these hubs throughout Africa, according to Martin Schulze, managing director of Contra Consolidators. Consolidation of cargoes was helping exporters penetrate these markets by reducing costs and the volumes that importers had to commit to, he told Freight News. Shippers and cargo owners have a variety of lines from which to choose. While there are no formal short-sea shipping corridors connecting the African ports, most of the major shipping companies provide services, which are supplemented by regional operators such as Breadbox Shipping Lines, which focuses on trade between Europe and the west coast, down to South Africa, with a f leet of geared vessels and breakbulk carriers.Uniatlantico’s West Africa Line and Benguela Feeder Service provide a corridor between West and South Africa, while the East Africa Line serves the eastern market.Maersk connects the Indian Ocean islands via Port Louis, while MSC connects to Mombasa, Djibouti, Dar es Salaam and Beira on the east coast, and Lagos and Walvis Bay on the west coast. There is potential for a formal west coast shipping corridor. MSC subsidiary Terminal Investment Namibia (TiN), which has been granted the concession to run the Walvis Bay container port, is expected to establish a hub to provide a closer connection between southern Africa and the west coast markets.The line currently offers a service linking South Africa to Walvis Bay, Namibe, Luanda, Pointe-Noire and Lomé. Speaking at the official handover of the port operations on October 1, TiN chief executive Alexander Reali said: “TiN is committed to bringing innovative practices and advanced operational standards to Namibia .”The handover includes plans for immediate dredging activities to deepen the port’s channel to accommodate larger vessels.Among the commitments made by TiN is the deepening of the channel to accommodate larger vessels. ER
