New ro-ro service links SA and Europe

Cargo to be hubbed at Vigo and Zeebrugge ALAN PEAT A NEW roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) service has just been launched – linking SA with ports in South and North West Europe and North Africa. According to Tony Kee of agents Freightmarine, the vessel plying the route is the MV African Highway – and it is to sail a regular schedule connecting Durban, Vigo, Zeebrugge and Algiers every 45-days, with Las Palmas, Tenerife and Casablanca calls every second voyage. “K-Line will utilise Vigo and Zeebrugge as hub ports for cargoes bound for the Mediterranean, UK, USA and Mexico,” he told FTW. First call by African Highway in Durban is scheduled for October 14, and owner’s representative, Uno Zama, has just been based in SA to promote the ro-ro service. The core cargo for the route is Toyota vehicle exports, Kee added, with K-Line being one of a number of lines contracted by the car maker to service its burgeoning export trade – which Kee currently estimates at 58 000 units annually, but which is expected to grow to 120 000 in the future. Vigo in Spain for the Iberian Peninsula market, and Algiers for the North Africa region are two major discharge points for the vehicle exports. The new service is added to K-Line’s already-established return sailings on the Far East, Indian Ocean Islands, SA, West Africa trade.