Neighbouring countries offer viable alternatives,
says Maersk Sealand MD
RAY SMUTS
IF THE NPA and SAPO choose to raise the port and marine tariffs to a level at or above inflation as in previous years, there is a risk that some shippers and shipping lines will speed up investigations into how to divert their cargo to ports in neighbouring countries, warns Flemming Dalgaard, MD of Maersk Sealand.
“And while it is always our intention to keep cost as low as possible in order to safeguard our customers’ competitive level, any increase in port and marine costs would have to be passed on to our clients.
“All our expenses are in rand and most of our income in dollars, so if you look at our cost picture in South Africa it has increased significantly,” he says.
“If there is an additional increase in port operating costs you will force shipping lines to look at an alternative and one is aware of transhipment possibilities in the Maputo Corridor, Walvis Bay as well as Mauritius.
“If costs continue to increase and one has ongoing challenges with productivity, there is
no doubt people will look at alternatives, and Maputo is a real alternative although a number of issues will have to be cleared up first like more equipment on the berth and more
efficient border crossing.”
“It is always our intention to pursue cost reductions wherever possible, and as the A.P.Moller-Maersk group we would normally prefer to link any increase to a performance measure rather than linking it to inflation or consumer price index. That would allow us to create win-win possibilities.”
Dalgaard, who succeeded Peter Ehrenreich six months ago, has been focusing pretty much on the line’s intermodal and operational activities and on the reefer segment since his arrival. This on top of familiarising himself with Maersk Sealand’s customer base.
