A number of well-established
shipping services to-andfrom
SA are going on the
“suspended” list, as the global
economic crunch begins to bite
the seafreight industry.
It started as far back as last
September when the SA-Europe
Container Service (Saecs) –
comprising Maersk Line, Mitsui
OSK Lines (MOL), Safmarine
and Deutsche Afrika-Linien
(DAL) – phased-out three
vessels on its intermediate
service
The most recent
announcement has come from
Maersk Line/Safmarine, which
have suspended their Far East-
SA ‘Safari 2’ loop (in which
Hamburg Süd slot charters
space). This service used six
ships each of 4 700 teu capacity.
Maersk’s SA MD, David
Williams, confirmed to FTW
that it continues to offer its
direct Far East-SA ‘Safari 1’
loop, to which a call at Port
Elizabeth (until now covered
with Safari 2) is added. The
Safari 1 is ensured with seven
ships of 4 800 teu.
Maersk also serves the
Far East-SA market through
the relevant legs of the two
FE-Durban-East Coast South
America (ECSA) services
that it operates in partnership
with Hamburg Süd. A Durban
eastbound call is also added on
the FE-West Africa ‘FEW 2’
service.
Said Williams: “It (the
suspension) is in line with
what other lines in the
shipping industry are doing,
and indicative of the global
downturn.”
In a similar boat is MOL,
which, according to marketing
team leader Andrew Weiss,
has cut out its ‘Zax’ Durban-
Maputo-Asia service.
“We will now be using
‘WA1’ service which serves
West Africa,” he said. “On the
return journey, this will now be
calling at Durban and Maputo
on the way to Singapore.”
Hamburg Süd is itself in a
belt-tightening phase, according
to SA GM, John Blessington.
“In the global turmoil, freight
rates have dropped so much,”
he said, “and volumes are way,
way down.”
How long will this last?
“We are looking at a bit of
an upturn – and it can’t go
any lower – by mid-2009,”
Blessington told FTW. And,
helping to trigger this, he added,
will be the current Asian tiger
of China, which he expects to
begin re-awakening in the next
few weeks as its stockpiles of
raw materials dwindle.
“Due to deteriorating market
conditions,” said Blessington,
“Hamburg Süd and Aliança
decided in December to
immediately reduce capacity
in the trades between Asia and
SA, as well as Asia and the
East Coast of South America
(ECSA).
“A weekly service frequency
will be maintained in these
trades. However, total capacity
has been reduced by 2 100 teus
per week in the period from
December 11 through January
8 and again in the period from
February 20 through March 27.”
For the moment, it’s happier
news coming from MSC.
“No services have been cut,”
said marketing manager, Glen
Delve, “and we continue as we
are.
“We also have no immediate
plans to make any changes to
the fleet and schedules on the
SA trades.”
FTW is led to believe that it’s
the same story for the Taiwanese
carrier, Evergreen Marine. As
far as we can gather, they also
have made no changes to their
fleets or schedules on the Far
East-SA run.
The estimates of the loss of
cargo volumes from FTW’s
seafreight contacts are all high,
double-digit figures.
One ship's agency executive
put the downturn at a cut of
40%+ for exports, and 30%+
for imports.
Shipping lines cut back as economic crunch hits
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