P&O Nedlloyd (PONL) has added a new service option as it ties in with Unicorn Lines' long-standing SA-Namibia-Angola service.
The global container line and the coastal feeder line are introducing a three-vessel service - deploying the Range, Barrier and P&O Nedlloyd Luanda - due to be phased in at the end of this month.
This is scheduled for weekly calls at Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Walvis Bay, Luanda, Walvis Bay, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban.
Said Iain McIntosh, PONL marketing manager: "The service links many of our worldwide deep-sea services with markets in Namibia and Angola. It also opens up coastal feeding opportunities that can be linked to other services."
The line will now be transhipping all Luandan cargo from Asia into this service at Port Elizabeth.
Meantime, the existing WACCON (Asia-West Africa) service will no longer call at Luanda but will now call at Abidjan (the first port of call after Durban) on a weekly basis.
"With transhipment via Abidjan," said McIntosh, "we will be able to offer wider West Africa coverage to Luanda and other ports such as Apapa, Cotonou, Lome, Tema, Douala, Takoradi and San Pedro."
The SALSA (South America-South Africa) service will also link in, with weekly connections at Cape Town and Port Elizabeth in both directions.
The new ship-sharing service has distinct benefits for Unicorn's long-term tie-up with the Namibian and Angolan sea trades, according to managing director Dave Rennie.
The extra vessel joining the fleet will offer a better service reliability at all the ports of call, he told FTW. This from a previous situation where port delays often threw the line's service timing out of kilter.
"We're obviously happy that we'll be able to offer better schedule integrity with PONL - and their extra ship - now joining us," he said.
The move is part of a restructuring of Unicorn Lines' service which sees its Mozambican and coastal trades operating independently, each with a fleet of dedicated vessels, says Unicorn marketing manager Melanie Wester.
Iain Mcintosh... wider West Africa coverage
