New West Africa link

Anchored in the Port of Cape
Town is the UAL Rodach,
one of a five-strong fleet of
multipurpose vessels sailing the
Universal Africa Line service
between SA and West Africa.
She and her four fellow
vessels in the fleet, all ranging
between 6 000 and 12 000-mt
dwt, are combined breakbulk/
container carriers, and with
cranes ranging between 60 and
250-tonne capacity.
“The ships are geared
towards heavy-lift cargoes, and
especially focused on the needs
of the oil and gas industries,”
said Ulrik Fischer, GM of
UAL Africa.
“I also expect Cape Town to
become the SA centre for repair
and replacement of oil and gas
equipment for the West African
oilfields, with oil rigs already
frequently seen in for repair at
the port.”
This has added an SA-West
Africa leg to UAL’s already
long-established reputation as
a niche breakbulk carrier in
the oil and gas industry from
Europe and the US Gulf to
West Africa.