THE BIG growth in seafreight exports to North America has encouraged shipping line Safmarine to add considerable extra tonnage to its America Express Container Services (AECS) fleet, according to trade manager Duncan Mackintosh. On the route between Southern Africa and the USA and Canada, demand for increased export capacity has justified the line substituting the 2 063 TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit) container ship, the Safmarine Tugela, for the smaller, 1 400 TEU, Safmarine Nolizwe in the first half of this month. "Responding to demand for increased export capacity the new vessel represents a substantial increase in capacity for both general purpose and integral reefer containers." A second ship in the fleet, the Safmarine Infanta, is also due to be replaced by a larger-capacity vessel in December but the detail is not yet finalised. The named-day, weekly service has direct calls at Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, New York, Baltimore, Newport News, Charle ston and Freeport - with relay services to 11 other main ports on the eastern seaboard of Canada, US and Mexico, and to Altamira in Brazil.
