Volumes through Beira and
Nacala are increasing for MSC
as Mozambique and its neighbours
recover from the drought and new
projects come on stream, according
to Nicola del Vecchio, managing
director of MSC Mozambique.
Mines and commodity traders
based in the Copperbelts of Zambia
and the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) are also making
greater use of Beira as the copper
and cobalt prices recover.
MSC operates four vessels ex
Durban and Ngqura on rotation to
Mozambique and East Africa (Dar es
Salaam and Mombasa).
These services provide
opportunities for South African
and Mozambican
exporters to reach
the main East
African markets and
distribution hubs.
There are weekly
north-bound calls
from Durban or
Ngqura to Maputo
and Beira, and an
equal number of
south-bound calls from Beira, while
Maputo offers fortnightly
south-bound calls.
Nacala is served fortnightly by the
southbound service.
The frequency
of the calls allows
MSC to place empty
containers where they
are needed in the
Mozambican ports.
Most exports
move through
Durban, with Ngqura
handling mainly
import traffic.
“Durban provides a lot of
flexibility as you can tranship from
the port directly to most of the main
markets around the world,” he says.
MSC provides a full bill of lading
service from Beira and Nacala into
Malawi and the Copperbelt.
Increased volumes through
the port of Nacala will attract
investment and more calls, he
believes.
“The graphite mine which
is ramping up near Nacala is
impressive, and there are a number
of smaller mines that will start
exporting.
“The strength of Nacala is that it
has a lot of room to grow,” he says.
INSERT & CAPTION
The strength of Nacala
is that it has a lot of
room to grow.
– Nicola del Vecchio
