The dredging of the port of Beira, which was completed in June this year, has already led to an increase in the number of direct calls. Maersk Line and Safmarine (APM-Maersk Group) are adding a direct call at Beira (Mozambique) and a second call at Toamasina (Madagascar) to their Tanjung Pelepas-East Africa relay service. Up to October Beira was serviced by Maersk and Safmarine via a feeder service from Durban. “This is a huge milestone,” says Maersk Mozambique managing director Jorge Fernandes. “Beira was the gateway to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi in the past. The dredging of the port means that it is again open for business”. Maersk is stretching the rotation from five to six weeks in order to maintain schedule integrity. A sixth ship has been added in order to maintain weekly sailings. The service now covers Tanjung Pelepas, Port Louis, Reunion, Toamasina, Maputo, Beira, Toamasina, Tanjung Pelepas, using ships of 1500-1700 TEUs. “We are confident that we can maintain the integrity of the service. We have our own people on the ground in the port of Beira. “The addition of the direct calls shows that Maersk is here to stay. We are in a position to supply freight into the whole East African hinterland through the Maersk Group,” says Fernandes
