Born of a combination of two long-established shipping services, the Angola Atlantic Line (AAL) looks set to make a big mark on the US-Angola sea trade. It combines the oceangoing ships of the Gulf Africa Line (GAL) – run in SA by Maritime Carrier Shipping (Macs) – and the feeder coastal vessels of Angolana de Navegacao (Anna) – represented in SA by Meihuizen International – in a new, regular, multipurpose liner service from the US Gulf to Angola. The ships will hub at the Namibian port of Walvis Bay, a transhipment point being co-ordinated by Meihuizen, according to Mark Kilbride. And the new, every 20-day multi-purpose service – handling bulk, breakbulk and containerised cargoes – is a perfect match of ships, according to Macs breakbulk manager, Lars Greiner. All the Macs and GAL vessels, he said, are in the 25 000-35 000-metric tonne deadweight class – handysize to handymax, multipurpose, tween-deck ships with self-geared heavy-lift capabilities up to 80-t. The Anna ships are in the 4 000-5 000-mt category, and also self-geared up to 60-tons. “It’s a perfect match,” said Greiner, “not only in vessels, but also in company character. I’d say it’s very much a synergy of mentalities.” The new Angola Atlantic Line will service a port rotation of: Altamira- Houston-New Orleans- Jacksonville-Walvis Bay- Sonils-Soyo-Cabinda. And, if things go as planned, there’s another sea trade leg that can be incorporated into the newly established link-up. Said Greiner: “If the AAL service goes successfully, we are hoping to add Macs as a third-string, and incorporate its European cargo into the service as well.”
