Hanjin makes its African debut

A number of Asian shipping lines – some not even known here yet – are sniffing at African business, a Far East shipping executive told FTW. “There are quite a few carriers looking to expand services in and around the African continent,” he said. And the reason? “The revenue earnings are better than a lot of the other international trades,” he added. And, according to this SA-based shipping source, the latest online news is that the Korean carrier, Hanjin, is possibly only one of these exploratory lines. “It should be noted that Hanjin is also treating SA as gateway for the African continent,” he added. Hanjin Shipping is to expand its network into north-south trade lanes by buying slots on a new K Line express service from Asia to SA. The SFX service is scheduled to start direct service on October 31, deploying seven vessels ranging in size from 2 500 to 3200 TEUs – of which K Line will provide five ships and Pacific International Lines (PIL) two. Hanjin said it would charter slots ranging from 250 to 300 TEUs depending on the vessel size. The Korean carrier said it hoped its first venture into service to SA would become the gateway for it in expanding its network throughout East and West Africa. Hanjin, which has historically focused on the east-west trade lanes, said its participation in the SFX service was part of its expansion into the northsouth trade lanes.