After a cut in fleet size during last year’s global crisis, the capacity of Maritime Carrier Shipping (MACS) has now returned to pre-recession levels, according to MD Felix Scheder-Bieschin. The cut included the redeployment of two vessels from its multipurpose Europe-SA service to the Southern Africa-Mexico-USA Gulf Africa Line (GAL) service where they replaced three 38-year-old ships that had been sold. This reduced the overall fleet by three vessels in 2009. But a replacement programme started late last year and early this year, and according to Scheder-Bieschin, the combined fleets are now twelve permanently employed ships on the two services and two coasters working the East African trade. “The capacity is now back to 2008 levels, and the fleet is younger, faster and has better equipment in terms of reefer plugs and heavy-lift gear,” he told FTW.
