Messina introduces Nacala call

Messina Lines is running reefer trials through the port of Nacala, which is Mozambique’s main export gateway for bananas and other perishables grown in the north of the country. One of the biggest banana growers in Africa is Matanuska, which is located along the Nacala Corridor in Monapo district in the northern province of Nampula. It is expected to export 54 000 tons of bananas to the Middle East in 2013. The company is quoted by the Mozambican newspaper Noticias as saying exports are expected to increase to 70 000 tons by 2014. Up to now Messina has been offering a container and ro-ro service to Nacala on an inducement basis, but it is expanding its operations in Mozambique’s northern ports following a 45% decline in container volumes through Maputo since 2010, says Captain Jai Misra, managing director of Messina Mozambique. The Nacala reefer service is being provided through a feeder from the Kenyan port of Mombasa, and then on to Jeddah, Genoa, Marseille, Barcelona, Castelion and Naples. According to Misra, the Messina ro-ro vessels are well suited to the needs of Mozambique and other African ports because of their multimodal capacity. “We carry a lot of mixed cargo,” he says. This is helping facilitate trade between African states. “We are seeing trade pick up between Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya,” he says. Messina is responsible for its own stevedoring. “We are selfreliant in the port of Maputo, with our own drivers and crane operators,” he says. The company uses its own equipment. Vessels currently call fortnightly on Maputo. INSERT & CAPTION We are seeing trade pick up between Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya. – Captain J Misra