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
