Messina introduces cabotage service

21 Oct 2015 - by Ed Richardson

There is now a scheduled

alternative to using the

more than 2 200-kilometre

road haul between Maputo

and Nacala.

Ignazio Messina line has secured

a regional cabotage licence from

the Mozambican government

that enables it to carry ro-ro and

containerised cargo between

Maputo and Nacala. “This is

the only such cabotage service

along the Mozambican coast,”

says Captain Jai Misra, the

managing director of Messina Line

Mozambique.

The “South East Line” string

runs Barcelona – Marseille

– Genoa – Salerno – Jeddah

– Mombasa – Dar es Salaam –

Durban – Maputo – Nacala – Dar

Es Salaam – Mombasa, Jeddah

and Barcelona.

From Jeddah the service

connects to diverse ports in the

Red Sea, Arabian Gulf, Karachi

in Pakistan, Mundra and

Nhava Sheva. The service also

connects to Portugal, from

Genoa and Salerno, and

offers ro-ro connections

to/from UK and

Antwerp.

There are scheduled calls every

two weeks by Messina’s ro-ro

vessels.

Seafreight holds a number of

advantages over road for high

and heavy cargo,

as well as the

synchronised

delivery of bulk

shipments, he

says.

The service can

also be used to

reposition mining

and construction

equipment from

Nacala through

Dar es Salaam

and Durban.

Messina

opened an office

in Nacala in March this year

“mainly to provide a better service

to clients,” he says.

Handling equipment such

as trucks and trailers has been

deployed to Nacala to handle the

offloading of the vessels.

Misra says investments in the

north of the country in the form of

coal and gas are seen by many as

the future drivers of growth in the

Mozambican economy, despite the

fact that the drop

in commodity

prices has seen

a “significant”

reduction in

investments in

coal, oil and gas in

Mozambique.

“Generally

volumes are low

mainly on account

of the downturn in

China and Europe.

“The

Mozambican

Metical has

depreciated by almost 25% since

the beginning of this year and this has

affected imports,” he says.

Shipping companies have

responded by dropping freight

rates “across the board in order to

stimulate imports and exports”.

INSERT & CAPTION

The service can also

be used to reposition

mining and construction

equipment from Nacala

through Dar es Salaam

and Durban.

– Captain Jai Misra