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.