Seafreight connection supports growing trade with Canada

There is growing trade between Gauteng and Canada, and this fits in perfectly with Mitchell Cotts Maritime’s recent launch of a direct seafreight connection between SA, Canada and the east coast of the US (EC-USA). According to Johannesburg branch manager Lennie Devanunthan, there is increased business being generated for the Canadian CSAL shipping line’s monthly roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) breakbulk and container service covering the ports of Montreal, Baltimore, Durban, Cape Town, Richards Bay and Walvis Bay. “This multi-purpose service handles a variety of cargoes,” he told FTW, “from general breakbulk to heavy-lift and oversized – and has specialised expertise in handling the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) classes 1 and 7 dangerous cargo. “We are also doing a lot of trade between Canada and the West Coast of Africa – focusing on construction and mining equipment, and secondhand vehicles.” Also in its product portfolio is the NYK service from the Far East via Durban, and then into West Africa – with calls at Lome, Tema and Lagos. Mitchell Cotts Maritime also represents a number of other blue chip organisations including the Transatlantic Southern Africa Services (Swedish Orient Line); Hapag-Lloyd; Stolt Parcel Tankers Inc; ROHK Trading; Louis Dreyfus Commodities Africa; and Noble Group Limited. “We are the local agents for the Angola National Shippers’ Council (CNCA),” said Devanunthan. “We also do the Electronic Cargo Tracking Notes (ECTN) required for certain other West African countries, and represent the Congolese Shippers’ Council in SA, Namibia, Swaziland, Mozambique and Zimbabwe – and are responsible for issuing the Fiche Electronique De Renseignement à L’importation (FERI) certificates for all shipments into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).”