New vessels cater for growing reefer demand

Fruit, fruit and more fruit. That is the outlook for the Western Cape. According to Marc Frauendorf, commercial manager of MACS Maritime Carrier Shipping, fruit is still the biggest export commodity for the Western Cape. “We expect 2015 to be challenging as the usual demand for our Western Cape fruit depends on many factors this year. On the one hand Europe is under pressure to sell its own crops due to the EU/Russia sanctions; on the other hand we have an exchange rate that is in favour of exports so it should stimulate the volumes,” he told FTW. “Additionally the Citrus Black Spot is not affecting the Western Cape Citrus, which is a great advantage and there could be substantial demand for our local crops.” The Western Cape remains important to the shipping line. In 2013 MACS, whose head-office is based in Hamburg, with subsidiaries in Europe, South Africa and Texas, added four new ships to its multipurpose f leet. The shipping line built these ships according to its specific cargo requirements which allowed it to maximise efficiency and increase competitiveness while remaining f lexible with regard to the cargo mix, said Frauendorf. One of the advancements on these vessels was the increased reefer capacity, allowing the line to carry up to 150 reefer containers with a sailing frequency of every 10 days, especially catering for the high reefer exports from the Western Cape. CAPTION One of MACS’ new-buildings, carrying reefer containers amongst other cargo.