Second vessel for Europe-West Africa launched in Germany

Equipped for TEU and reefers on high seas THE SECOND of Safmarine’s three new vessels purpose-built for the Europe-West Africa trade has just been launched in Germany. Safmarine Nimba, like its sister-ship Safmarine Cameroun, is geared and specially designed to accommodate the length and draft restrictions of a number of West African ports. With an overall length of 195.5 metres, beam of 32.2 metres and deadweight tonnage of 27 545 tons, the ship has a container-carrying capacity of 2100 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) and is equipped with 340 plugs to power refrigerated (reefer) containers. The three new vessels are aimed at the two-way trade between Europe and West Africa, with the main cargo categories named as machinery, motor vehicles, industrial chemicals, vegetable oils, fertilisers and white goods on the southbound run, and commodities such as cocoa and coffee beans, cotton, timber and rubber on the return voyage.