Durban serves as transhipment port for West Africa

Volumes of transhipments from Asia to West Africa via Durban are growing, according to Peter Schmidt-Löffler, chief executive officer of independent groupage operator CFR Freight. “Ghana has been one of our big success stories where we have almost doubled our volumes. This is thanks mainly to the regular and guaranteed service that we offer as well as the solid relationship that we have with our partner in Tema,” he says. CFR serves Namibia, Angola and Nigeria on a regular basis, with occasional shipments to the Ivory Coast. Freight is also routed from Europe through the CFR network. “Our partner in Hamburg, SACO Shipping, part of the WorldWideAlliance, is one of the strongest consolidators in Europe, offering regular direct services from Europe to Africa. “Together with their weekly departures we can cover the entire West Coast of Africa, servicing the likes of Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Gabon and The Congo. “Through these entry points we also service Central Africa,” he says. Schmidt-Löffler believes that shipping lines should look at increasing the number of direct calls to West African ports. “We find that there may be more opportunities to start additional direct services to these destinations. “In order to strengthen the economies in those destinations we have to be able to get direct services in place to make the countries more competititive," he says. INSERT & CAPTION In order to strengthen the economies in those destinations we have to be able to get direct services in place to make the countries more competitive. – Peter Schmidt-Löffler