New reefer service del

After a delay of more than
a month in launching MBG
Shipping’s new reefer
service between South
Africa/Europe/West Africa,
the maiden voyage will
sail from Cape Town no
later than January 20,
according to founder and
MD Ian Wicks.
Alex de Bruyn,
Safmarine’s Southern
Africa trade executive, tells
FTW negotiations about a
possible charter of the
1 550 TEU Alioth are
ongoing with the owner of
the vessel but Wicks claims a
valid contract is in place for
the same ship, for which he
says R1.8 million was
paid upfront.
MBG, acting on a
suggestion by several fruit
exporters that it make
contact with Saecs via
Safmarine, did just that,
though talks ultimately
proved unsuccessful.
De Bruyn says the
discussions took place
against the background of
MSC’s initial cancellation of
its “Week 52/53” sailing (end
of December/beginning of
January) to Europe.
On the table was a
proposal by MBG to sell
slots/plugs to Saecs VSA
(vessel-sharing agreement)
members in “Week 53”,
which Saecs member lines
declined to entertain, due to
lack of incremental demand
in week 53.
Responding to questions
forwarded by this
correspondent, one of those
a belief held by Wicks that
Safmarine is more intent
on securing Alioth than in
doing business with MBG,
De Bruyn says: “Safmarine
was at the time in the
market to provide a vessel
for the recommencement
of Saecs VSA Reefer
Express Service in Week
5 (the first in February)
and was in contact, via the
brokers, with a number of
owners, including Alioth’s,
in terms of suitable vessels
to fill the position on the
Week 5 service. This was
openly shared with MBG
in week 53 discussions and
the two activities ie, spot
opportunities in week 53
versus supplying a vessel
in week 5, are mutually
exclusive.”
Wicks believes the
big shipping players are
intent on keeping any new
enterprise out, even though
he believes there is a place
in the market for a small,
focused, niche operator.
MBG general manager,
Pamela Yerushalmy, tells
FTW the lines remain
“fiercely” protective of what
is a lucrative trade between
South Africa/Europe and the
UK. But the fruit industry
continues to grow and fruit
needs to be moved at all
costs, on top of which the
majority of fruit exported is
shipped in containers
these days.
MBG’s dilemma at the
outset was its inability to
source enough containers
(350 FEUs required a week)
to maintain a scheduled and
viable weekly service, due to
the unwillingness of major
container leasing companies
to supply.
One wonders, as suspects
Wicks, whether this may
not stem from the “Lonrho
debacle” (his description),
when the pan-African
conglomerate, after investing
millions of dollars to acquire
a majority stake in SA
Independent Liner Services
(Sails) but unhappy over the
line’s performance, applied
to the Cape high court for
its winding up. This came
at a time when Wicks,
MD of Sails, had been on
suspension for six months
and therefore was not in
control of the business.
According to Wicks,
Sanek Trust, the liquidators,
immediately cancelled all
existing container leases
and ship charter agreements,
leaving the container
companies and shippers
in the dark about the
whereabouts of their boxes.