Shippers welcome additional Saecs reefer service

There’s welcome news for the SA perishable exporting brigade, with the Southern Africa Europe Container Service (Saecs) bringing on an additional container service in the peak season. This, says Saecs, is aimed at primarily accommodating the seasonal increase in refrigerated exports from SA to Europe during the period February to August 2010. To be known as the Saecs Reefer Express, the service will be adapted in terms of frequency and ports of call according to the seasonal demands of the perishable/ refrigerated products market and will supplement the capacity provided by the main weekly Saecs core service. The Saecs member lines are: Safmarine, Maersk Line, Deutsche Afrika Linien (DAL) and MOL. “I think it’s a sound move,” said Mike Walwyn, director of Seaboard and Western Cape representative of the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff), who also holds the association’s maritime affairs portfolio. “There have been times in the peak season when there has been a shortage of capacity and cargoes have been bumped off. So it’s positive.” Walwyn also said he presumed that Saecs had talked to all the perishable shippers and had gained a good idea of the available volumes, and were aiming at satisfying that need. “From a shippers’ point-of-view, it can only benefit the industry,” he added, “and give them more options.”