Entry into SEAS service pays dividends for Maruba

TERRY HUTSON
IT’S BEEN better than plain sailing since the advent last year of Maruba SCA in South Africa joining the SEAS service between South America and the Far East. Maruba’s decision to enter the joint service led to the creation of Alpha Shipping, headed by Richard Brook-Hart and Duncan Starke. Both formerly of Polaris Shipping, they entered into a joint venture with the Argentine shipping major as the South African representatives and agent. Maruba’s been around since the early 1960s and has expanded its operations considerably from the days when it operated a coastal type service along the South American seaboard. The entry into the SEAS service with CMA CGM and CSCL resulted in two Maruba vessels joining the 10-ship weekly service with calls at Durban. With rates between the Far East and South Africa being higher than those from the Far East to South America it’s little wonder that South Africa has been hard to ignore. “Our biggest challenge is that there’s a lot coming into South Africa from the Far East but not necessarily so much going the other way, leading to an oversupply of mainly 40ft boxes coming in and 20ft boxes going the other way.” The other challenge facing the service lies with the port, where Maruba makes use of the Pier One Container Terminal. “We’ve made a long-term commitment to Pier One where we’ve acquired a berthing window but as you know the terminal is under construction and poorly equipped at present, so we are having to go through some pain before there’s gain.”