NileDutch newbuild calls at Durban

Due on its maiden call to the Port of Durban this week is the newly built NileDutch Breda – a 3 510-TEU capacity, self-geared ship deployed on the line’s busy Far East-West Africa service. She and her three sister ships – due to be completed later this year – have an overall length of 224 metres, a beam (width) of 34.8m and a draught of 12.5m. With these dimensions and deck equipment the four new vessels are tailored to the ports they will serve in West Africa. And this will suit SA export trade to West Africa which is a burgeoning market, according to Jeevan Singh, Durban-based sales and marketing executive for NileDutch. “Angola is a prime niche market for us, and we are a very important player in that country,” he told FTW. “We also use Luanda as a hub to the other ports at the southern end of the West African coastline, and Pointe Noire in the Republic of the Congo as the transhipment hub for those in the north.” With a 30-year history and an extensive office network in West Africa, NileDutch Africa Line provides liner services between a wide range of West African ports and SA, Europe, South America and Asia. “Also, Chinese businesses are important suppliers to NileDutch, as we make major investments in that country,” he said. “In addition to the four vessels being built by Shanghai Shipyard, NileDutch also purchases large quantities of containers from Chinese manufacturers, the world’s largest suppliers.