Terry Hutson
CHINESE SHIPPING line Cosco has revealed plans to intensify its focus on the Far East - South Africa - South America weekly
service that it currently shares with Evergreen, managing director Han Shou Shan told FTW in Durban last week.
We entered the present slot agreement with Evergreen in May 1999, which gave us two ships and 480 slots on Evergreen's eight vessels.
Prior to that Cosco
operated 11 ships on the route and the consolidation made a lot of economic sense at the time.
Han explained that Cosren was now experiencing problems as a result of too few slots, but said he was confident that the respective owners would have negotiated a new agreement more favourable to themselves before May this year.
He also announced the withdrawal of the 2-vessel fortnightly service between South Africa and West Africa effective from mid February. In future Cosco intends operating a West African service from the Mediterranean using the ports of Genoa, Fos (Marseilles) and Barcelona, while Dakar has been added as a port of call in West Africa. All
transhipment cargo for West Africa from the Far East will be routed along that direction.
He said that the transhipment service from Durban had suffered from space limitations, whereas Cosco believed that by servicing West Africa from the Mediterranean more
opportunities would be
created along that route.
This will also enable Cosren to focus more
attention on our important South America - South Africa - Far East service. As for South African cargo destined for West Africa we will make arrangements with other carriers to carry this on our behalf.
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