Joy Orlek
GLOBAL CONTAINER Lines will launch a multi-purpose service between Durban and East Africa this month.
Initially offering a 10-day frequency, the service will call Durban, Maputo, Beira, Nacala, Dar-es-Salaam, Zanzibar and Mombasa where cargo will be hubbed for the Persian Gulf and Indian subcontinent, calling Karachi, Mumbai, Muscat, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Dammam.
According to GCL executive director, Ali Paksima, who was in South Africa last week to touch base with newly-appointed local agents Freightmarine Shipping, the New York-based line has been calling at SA ports on an ad hoc basis for the past 10 years.
The addition of a regular Durban and Maputo call was a logical extension of its established East Africa, Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf express service, says Paksima, who is delighted with the response from shippers.
The ro-ro vessel Conti Glory will inaugurate the service, sailing from Durban on May 22. With the multi-purpose Global Pride, the line will cater for containers, ro-ro, breakbulk and heavy lift cargoes.
While the service will initially operate every 10 days, director Hormoz Shayegan is confident that this will be pumped up to a weekly frequency in due course.
GCL was established in the early 1980s to serve the trade between East Africa, the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf. It has since extended its field of operation significantly, also offering tramp services.
The line's marketing manager Paul Tunstall will be based in South Africa, commuting between Johannesburg and Durban, to oversee operations and to liaise with major shippers.
Tunstall believes that the line has a lot to offer in the way of specialist expertise in East Africa.
Speedy vessel turnaround is one of its major selling points. We have our own exclusive berth in Mombasa, as well as exclusive agents in Dar-es-Salaam, Mombasa and Dubai.
The fact that we are mixed carriers also gives us a unique position in the market, enabling us to carry any type of cargo with speedy discharge and loading to ensure schedule integrity.
As approved carriers for the United Nations, the line has been involved in the movement of aid cargo in Africa.
Through its intermodal links with air and road operators, GCL offers a door-to-door service to inland destinations where the line has stationed port captains to oversee overland transport.
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