Angola South celebrates increased capacity

RAY SMUTS A NEW chapter was written in the history of Angola South Line and its Southern African general agents, Meihuizen International, last weekend when the 3 500dwt Angola Express sailed from Cape Town on its maiden voyage to the West African country. The line, owned by Angolan company ANNA, has hitherto operated only one vessel, the Blue Sky, between South Africa and Angola and the addition of a second vessel to the service is bound to be a boon for shippers doing business in that busy part of the continent. Peter Meihuizen, chairman of Meihuizen International, explains that the search has been on a for a suitable vessel for quite some time. “Ships are not easy to find but the Blue Sky and Angolan Express are running full and we feel the cargo is there so we aim to fill the need of the smaller West African ports and might even look further afield in future.” (Current calls are Cape Town, Durban, Luanda, Soyo, Cabinda and Malongo.) The orange-hulled Angola Express is 92.7 metres long and 15 metres wide. She has 296 TEU slots on and underdeck, 40 reefer plug points and two 35-ton portside cranes able to work in tandem – a plus for operating in West Africa. Crewed by 11, she has a service speed of 12.5 knots. Both the Blue Sky and Angola Express are on charter to the Angolan owner from two individual German companies.