A weekly feeder service
by Mediterranean
Shipping Company
(MSC) between Nacala
and Durban out of Antwerp and
Rotterdam has made it possible
for MSC Zambia to promote
the northern Mozambican port
as another gateway for imports
and exports into Zambia and the
Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC), says MSC Zambia country
director Mesele Seyuba.
This new route is a result of
investment into the deep-water
port of Nacala, which is linked to
Zambia by rail, making it a viable
option for importers and exporters,
says Seyuba.
The railway line from Zambia to
Nacala was commissioned in May
2014 after the project to connect
the line from Muchinji to Chipata
had been dormant for nearly 30
years.
Trial runs have been completed
successfully on the 1050-km route,
which runs from Zambia’s Chipata
district to Nacala through Malawi.
Transit takes approximately four
days.
MSC partners with road hauliers
and rail operators to provide
landside logistics to support their
seafreight services.
Having a shipping line providing
a full through bill of lading
transport service to all of the main
ports serving Zambia and the DRC
has a number of advantages for
shippers, he believes.
“The benefit of using the
rail corridor is that it reduces
border delays and associated
administration
constraints, owing
to the efforts by
the rail operator
to create synergies
with all relevant
stakeholders in the
supply chain,” says
Seyuba.
In addition, it
adds much-needed
flexibility for
shippers – which
is important when operating in a
landlocked country like Zambia.
“MSC Zambia is unique in
its operations in that we are a
shipping company in a country
without a port. This presents
obvious challenges with respect
to minimising import and export
costs to clients, but at the same
time it presents opportunities for
innovative ways of trying
to move cargo to/from
ports in the most costeffective
way,” he says.
INSERT & CAPTION
The benefit of using the
rail corridor is that it
reduces border delays and
associated administration
constraints.
– Mesele Seyuba
