India-Far East service adds benefits for SA shippers

Safmarine’s new Chennai
Express service – which
links India and the Far East
– will not only boost trade
between these two regions,
but will also open up
opportunities for increased
trade between southern
Africa and South India,
says South Africa trade
director, Alex de Bruyn.
“The service was
introduced in September
this year, calling Shanghai,
YanTian, Tanjung
Pelepas, Port Klang,
Chennai (Madras) and
Visakhapatnam before
returning to Tanjung Pelepas
and Shanghai.
“Because both this new
service and the existing
Safari 1 and 3 services
(between Southern Africa
and the Far East) call at
Tanjung Pelepas, Southern
African exporters and
importers are able to
combine the Safari and
Chennai Express services
to gain faster and quicker
access to and from the
South Indian market,” he
said.
The Tanjung Pelepas call
is also expected to open up
opportunities and improved
access for Indian and
Southern African cargo into
the Horn of Africa.
The Horn of Africa
service, introduced in July
this year, currently calls
Tanjung Pelepas, Jebel Ali,
Dijoubouti, Jeddah and Port
Sudan.
“This service can be
used to connect cargo from
either India (on the Chennai
Express service) or South
Africa (on Safari) to Tanjung
Pelepas and then into the
ports in the Middle East and
the Horn of Africa.”
The Middle East - South
Africa trade is currently
served by the weekly
MESA service which calls
Salalah, Jebel Ali, Bandar
Abbas and JNPT (India).