PIL adds ships on China-Africa service

The Singapore shipping
operation Pacific
International Lines (PIL)
has just acquired four more
ships to add to its multipurpose
service (MPS) fleet
on the China-Africa trade.
Adding the four 17 500-ton
deadweight (dwt) breakbulk
vessels brings the fleet size
up to six, with the main
loading ports of Xingang,
Dalian and Shanghai, with
Bata in Equatorial Guinea
and Lagos in Nigeria as
the discharge ports – and
other ports served on
inducement.
“We are hoping that SA
shippers will take advantage
of this service and allow us
to start calls at Durban and
Richards Bay,” Ivan Naik,
MD of PIL SA told FTW.
The ships’ cranes have
a lifting capacity of up
to 220-tonnes, and that,
Naik added, gives them
the capability of handling
the transportation of
project cargoes and
individual heavy lifts – like
transformers, generators and
yachts.
“We resumed this
breakbulk service in
March,” said Naik,
“in response to strong
customer demand for the
transportation of project
shipments between China
and Africa.”