Saf cuts transit time on West Africa route

Safmarine has enhanced its ‘225’ fully-containerised service between South Africa and West Africa by adding a direct call at the port of Cotonou in Benin, reducing sailing frequency to every 13 days (down from 16) and adding a third vessel. “We have also shifted our operations in Durban from Pier 1 to the Durban Container Terminal (DCT) and will now be using the Tincan Island (TICT) Terminal in Lagos instead of the Apapa Terminal,” intra-Africa corridor manager, James Lewer, told FTW. The ‘225’ caters for southern African customers trading with Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Togo, Benin and Ghana. “It’s a simple and effective string offering regular sailings and competitive transit times.” After calling South African base ports of Durban and Cape Town, the ‘225’ steams northbound to Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, Tema in Ghana, Cotonou in Benin and finally onto Lagos (Tincan Island) in Nigeria before returning southbound to Durban Currently deploying three vessels of 1700 TEU nominal capacity, the 225 forms part of Safmarine’s West Africa portfolio. A direct service offering is available to Luanda in addition to a multi-purpose service direct into Angola, Congo, Gabon, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In addition to serving the main markets of West Africa, Safmarine offers access to the full range of West African ports via transhipment options over the hubs of Abidjan and Tema.