Happy landings for sea-air service for sea-air service

A combination of sea and air
freight services out of the Far
East into Zambia is helping
importers save costs and time,
according to Sudhir Balsure of
Barloworld Logistics (Zambia).
The SAM (sea air model) service
uses scheduled vessels from the Far
East to Dubai, where the freight is
repacked for air freight to Lusaka
and to a number of other African
countries.
“Our objective is to be faster than
sea, and cheaper than air,” he says.
Using this service, it takes around
28 days to carry freight from a port
in the Far East and have it landed in
Lusaka (pure air freight takes 10 to
12 days, according to Balsure).
“Dubai is used as a transit hub as
it’s a leading port in the world plus
offers easy air connections to several
countries in Africa. This makes
transportation affordable, faster and
convenient to the shipper,” says
Balsure.
It’s a more cost-effective option
than airfreight for importers of highvalue
goods like cosmetics, clothing
and furniture.
Balsure believes the sea air model
is a transportation boon to African
land-locked countries where sea ports
are not available and air freight is not
always affordable. “SAM is not only
cost-effective, it’s reliable.”