Chilean shipping company reopens SA-West Africa service

South America’s largest line has reopened an SA-West Africa service. The Chilean shipping company, Compania Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV), previously served West Africa between 2002 and 2006. But it was then a Europe-West Africa- East Coast South America (ECSA) connection – offered together with CSAV Uruguayan affiliate Montemar, with temporary partnerships with MOL and Hapag-Lloyd. But the new service will use Durban as its hub port linking up West Africa with the Far East, India, Middle East and ECSA markets. This will be done through connections at Durban with CSAV’s Asia-SA service (New Discovery – 45561) and ECSA-SA-Middle East service (Marco Polo – 45572). The line will re-enter the West Africa market with a weekly feeder service – West Africa Explorer – linking Durban with Abidjan, Tema, Cotonou and Lagos. It will operate a fleet of four ships of 1 800-TEU capacity. The 1 841-TEU San Adriano will open the service on December 12, as it sails from Durban headed for the West African string of ports. This is another step forward in the fortunes of CSAV which, earlier in the year, staved off the spectre of bankruptcy after it put together the equivalent of almost R5-billion in a capital-raising plan in agreement with Hamburgbased shipowners. With this backing, the line took advantage of the early-year global recovery and increase in trade, and posted first-half profits of almost R475-million compared to a record loss of R4.67-bn in 2009. This saw the German investors making an immediate 10% return on their investment, and cashing in on the recovery with the sale of a third of their equity participation in the Valparaiso-based group. CSAV then raised another R2.8-bn through issuing new equity to allow the group to further bolster its balance sheet and expand its fleet. CSAV quickly became one of the fastest-growing container lines, adding 203 000-TEUs (or 61%) to its capacity in the first nine months – helping it to move up six places (from 13th to 7th) in French shipping analyst, AXS Alphaliner’s, global rankings of boxlines.