Fairseas set to grow Gauteng market

With a footstep already firmly printed in the region’s coastal ports, the shipping and freight logistics specialist, Fairseas International, has gone on the expansion path and opened a Johannesburg office. “Our operation, providing regional seafreight and landside services around Africa and services focused on seafreight chartering and brokering activities, has been going from strength to strength,” said founder and company director, Liam McKenzie. “This everexpanding service has motivated the Johannesburg move – with the express intention of commercial development of the Gauteng and surrounding regions.” Now a youthful veteran of SA shipping, Pamela Yerushalmy has moved in as commercial executive to conduct this development operation. “We seek to provide value by providing cost-effective sea transport and intermodal solutions along the African seaboard and the Indian Ocean rim – including the Indian Ocean Island areas,” said Yerushalmy. Amongst the services, Fairseas operates its self-operated tonnage – taking the form of the 9 600-metric tonne deadweight project vessel, the Cornhill. She offers a breakbulk and bulk liner service in the Walvis Bay to Mombasa range of ports – with a heavy-lift capacity suitable for moving project cargoes, as well as providing regular sailings for handy size shipments of bulk commodities in and out of the East African, Red Sea and sub-continent areas. “But,” said McKenzie, “the services we offer would best be described as taking anything, anywhere, anytime.” “Apart from that,” he added, “we’ll also accept project cargoes and consignments for overborder delivery into hinterland countries like Uganda in the south-east to Burkina Faso in the north-west. While it is looking to further develop niche opportunities in the region and abroad, Mozambique remains an area of focus – Fairseas expecting to have 25 vessel port calls there this year alone. With the subsidiary operation, Mozport Mozambique, Fairseas is able to offer tailored seafreight and landside solutions on the Maputo corridor and elsewhere in Mozambique – including transit C&F agency services, arrangement and facilitation of physical packing operations and various cargo management services.