Imports of project and breakbulk cargo into large parts of Africa remained steady throughout 2013 at a similar level to that experienced in 2012 for project specialist BBC Chartering. According to the company’s global business development officer Europe/Africa, Hendriette Theron, breakbulk exports were slightly weaker than the previous year. “Although we have built reputable services from the Far East, Europe and the East Coast of South America to Africa, the biggest challenge remains finding sufficient breakbulk cargoes exported from African ports on return shipping routes,” she told FTW. “In some cases it’s very costly to re-position our vessels which are opening up in southern Africa.” Theron says finding return cargo remains a priority into 2014 in order to keep the routes viable. “We are optimistic for 2014 and hope that several projects that have been on the cards will come through and have an impact on volumes. With several mining projects having been put on hold this year – without a clear indication of when or if they will move forward – we are hoping to see more projects take off resulting in more export cargo,” she said. “The infrastructure projects that are under way in a number of southern African countries are very interesting for us and promise to push up the import volumes into these countries significantly.” She said while several challenges – including piracy along the East and West coasts and port congestion – continued to plague Africa, the outlook for the continent was extremely positive. “Africa will remain a big market of interest in the foreseeable future thanks to the abundance of projects in the pipeline. To what extent these projects will be realised and developed is yet to be seen and will definitely be inf luenced by the stability of the governments in the different African countries,” said Theron. “At the same time the issue of piracy and port congestion needs to be addressed. Piracy remains a concern and is a risk factor on both the East and West coasts. In the Gulf of Nigeria especially it has become very problematic of late.” Theron said port congestion, especially on the West Coast, was also starting to impact – not only because of the added costs but because it caused delays in the delivery of cargoes booked for the subsequent ports of call on the voyage. INSERT & CAPTION Finding return cargo remains a priority into 2014 in order to keep the routes viable. – Hendriette Theron CAPTION Catering for the abundance of projects ... BBC Chartering’s specialist fleet.
