CMA CGM to launch new Asia-SA service

In a move designed to
strengthen its presence in
South Africa, CMA CGM
is set to introduce a new
Asia-SA service next year in
response to growing demand,
executive officer Rodolphe
Saadé told FTW in Durban
last week.
In South Africa on his first
(but “definitely not his last”)
visit, Saadé diarised March
2011 for the maiden voyage
of the line’s first dedicated
Asia-SA service.
China will be the main
player at the northern end
of the trade, and there could
be a call at the Indian Ocean
Island of Reunion on the
way south. “We have not yet
finally decided which ports
in SA we will use,” said
Saadé.
But CMA CGM has
confirmed the vessels it
will deploy, with Saadé
committing to six vessels
of 2 500-TEU capacity to
service the trade route.
The group is strongly
committed to growing the
CMA CGM and Delmas
presence in SA and the
region, added Lars Kastrup,
group director for the
European and African
regions.
Evidence of this, he said,
was the launch of a new
direct call in Durban on the
weekly WAX service linking
Asia and West Africa.
There is also a direct
call eastbound on the line’s
weekly SEAS service linking
Asia and the East Coast of
South America (ECSA).
“Also under study are
further calls at Port Elizabeth
and Cape Town for the
weekly MIDAS service –
which links India-Middle
East Gulf-West Africa,” said
Kastrup
Saade also pointed out that
the new deep-water Eastern
Cape port of Ngqura, some
20 kilometres north-east of
the established harbour at
Port Elizabeth, is also being
examined.
“We will maybe use
Ngqura as a transhipment
hub for other CMA CGM
services,” he said.
Arnaud Thibault, regional
director for the southern
African countries at CMA
CGM Shipping Agencies
in Durban, noted that the
group was also studying
new developments for the
SA-Middle East market.
On a regional basis,
the line – which is the
third largest in the world
– has opened offices in
Walvis Bay in Namibia, in
Beira, Nacala, Maputo in
Mozambique, Blantyre and
Lilongwe in Malawi and is
in the process of opening
offices in Zimbabwe and
Zambia.
“The reefer market in
the region is also definitely
the next study for further
development,” Thibault
added.
The message from all of
this, said Saadé: “It marks
a major step forward in our
presence in SA.
“We have a very capable
team here. They’ll give it
every effort, and we’ll see
how it goes.”