RAY SMUTS DISCHARGING AND loading cargo at Cape Town’s multi-purpose terminal rather than the container terminal, often beset by problems such as wind delays and vessel congestion, has afforded Maritime Carrier Shipping (MACS) a considerable degree of flexibility. In addition the line has streamlined operations by deploying two additional vessels for a total of seven on the South Africa-Europe route and an increased sailing frequency of between eight and ten days. The company is also satisfied at having established a reefer ‘footprint’, focusing on Cape Town and Walvis Bay, Namibia, with transits as short as 13 days direct to the ports of Vigo/Lisbon and Rotterdam. On the import leg, MACS offers a saving of at least two to four days and substantially subsidised railage to clients shipping cargo between Cape Town and Johannesburg. Export-wise, additional Johannesburg stacks have afforded another loading window, in addition to Durban, MACS maintaining that thanks to Spoornet tariffs, container rail shipping is actually coming in at reduced cost to the client. Furthermore, a MACS application to Spoornet resulted in the successful implementation of ‘open rolling stacks’. The MACS USA service GAL (Gulf Africa Line), connecting the US Gulf with Southern African ports, is growing by the day. The company recently acquired two 37 000dwt vessels, bringing to five the number of dedicated and owned vessels on this specific service. MACS has also purchased a ‘project’ vessel dedicated to serving the Southern Africa sub-region, from Angola all the way to Kenya.
