s Three new vessels of this class will be deployed on the weekly Lisa service between South African, West Africa and the Mediterranean
Ray Smuts
EXCITEMENT IS in the air as Maersk Sealand's Peter Ehrenreich proudly declares: The Blues are back.
He's not referring to 15 burly rugby imports committed to trampling the pride of this land into the turf but the return of more of the distinctive blue-hulled, blue-funnelled, Maersk ships to South African waters.
Ehrenreich, general manager for Maersk Sealand's Cape Town branch, told FTW this week that in the year ahead the company foresaw growth to West Africa and indeed the Mediterranean, hence the need for increased vessel presence.
To this end, Maersk Sealand/Safmarine has just inaugurated the weekly Lisa service which supersedes the fortnightly Elisa service in force for the past eight months.
Lisa's main selling points, explains Ehrenreich, are a mid-week closing for exports, particularly important for Cape Town, direct coverage of Port Elizabeth northbound, a direct service between Namibia and Angola up to the Iberian Peninsula and a direct weekly sailing between South Africa and Angola.
Participating in the new venture are seven vessels in total, three of which, Agnette Maersk, Adrian Maersk and one still to be named, are new to South Africa.
The other vessels, formerly engag on the Elisa service, are Alva Maersk, Albert Maersk and Safmarine's SCL Iberia and SCL Italia.
Ehrenreich says while Maersk Sealand and Safmarine will share the service it will be managed and operated by Maersk Sealand.
American-owned Sealand, one of the world's largest in container shipping, was acquired by Maersk parent company A P Moller for more than US$800 million toward the end of last year. This acquisition explains the new trade name of Maersk Sealand worldwide.
The northbound Lisa service (with bi-monthly ports of call in asterisks) involves container vessels only,
taking in Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Luderitz*, Walvis Bay, Luanda. Abidjan, San Pedro*, Algeciras, Leixoes, Lisbon and southbound, Algeciras, Dakar Pointe Noir* and Durban.
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