Maersk ships Mozambican head office to Beira

Maersk Mozambique sees so much growth potential in central and northern Mozambique that it is moving its head office from Maputo to Beira. “Beira has been experiencing explosive growth over the past three years. Volumes in the first three months of 2012 were 53% up on the previous year,” says Jorge Fernandes, managing director of Maersk Mozambique. The move will consolidate Maersk’s operations in Mozambique, and allow it to raise its levels of service, he says. It will also put Maersk in the right position to be part of the development of the Beira corridor into neighbouring states. Another plus is that having its head office in the centre of the country will allow Maersk to develop its services through all the growing ports in Mozambique. “Being in Beira is crucial for a shipping line, but that is not to say that we will not continue to focus on the other ports. Maputo is the gateway into South Africa, and we will retain a strong team in the city to service our clients,” he says. The new offices are expected to open in February 2013 in one of the new office complexes being built in Beira. Having a strong presence in Beira will also help Maersk to closely monitor developments in the port, which continues to present draught challenges after being dredged. To the north, Nacala is presenting a challenge at present due to a fall-off in wood exports following government action to protect the natural forests. But planned investment into a new container export terminal and investments in agriculture hold promise for the future. Maersk is currently the biggest carrier of bananas grown in northern Mozambique and exported to the Middle East and provides exporters with the required technical reefer support. According to the Confederation of Mozambican Economic Associations, the country’s eight major producers exported around US$50-million worth of bananas in 2011. Maersk is working with the various farmers to help expand their markets into Europe and the Far East. CAPTION Jorge Fernandes … explosive growth.