SCL joins forces with P&O Nedlloyd and Laurel A NEW partnership has been formed around the shipping service - marketed under the brand name CMBT Intertrade - on the Southern/Eastern Africa, Middle East, Pakistan, India trade.
SCL (Safmarine and CMBT Lines) has now established a partnership with P&O/Nedlloyd and Laurel Navigation on the route. This follows the withdrawal of Quadrant Container Lines from the service - originally started by sister line Unicorn and CMBT some two years ago.
The new agreement sees CMBT providing three of the seven ships on the route, and the combined operation offering weekly sailings compared to the previous fortnightly frequency. The new service rotation will include direct northbound calls at Durban, Nacala, Dar es Salaam, Mombasa, Jebel Ali, Karachi and Mumbai, and returning via Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Beira/Nacala (alternately) to Durban.
According to Safmarine's media liaison manager, Richard Warnes, there are a number of advantages in the new service. He points to faster transit times, southbound Mozambique calls by all the ships in the fleet, and the introduction of new tonnage, as the most significant of these.
The service started in early January with loadings from Mumbai, and the replacement tonnage is due to be phased in during the first quarter - with minimum disruption to the service.
