Volumes and rates picking up nicely

Ships are now sailing full regularly, with new demand for cargo to the Far East, according to Rhett van Zyl, MD of CMA CGM Shipping Agency. “There’s currently a big demand coming in for sailings from SA to the Far East,” he told FTW, “with freight rates picking up quite nicely.” Both CMA CGM’s outbound services – one sailing directly from Durban, and the other linking Maputo-Beira-Nacala to the Far East – are sailing loaded to the gunnels. And Van Zyl said they were busy looking for extra capacity to meet this growing demand. “Two services from West Africa to the Far East have been calling for bunkers in Durban,” he said. “But both have been converted into commercial calls because of the large demand.” The Mozambique calls are also proving themselves, with the Port of Maputo being the pick of the bunch. “There’s a big demand for cargo out of Gauteng through Maputo,” said Van Zyl. Imports from the east have also been quite tidy in recent times. According to Van Zyl’s records, the market has taken off in the last six-toeight weeks. “Although it’s hard to say whether it’s just the normal peak season, or a real, sustainable upturn, it doesn’t matter. Whichever it is, it’s good.” This has also seen CMA CGM Shipping Agency sniffing around for extra incoming space. “We’re getting a lot of enquiries for imports into SA,” said Van Zyl, “and we’re looking at turning one of the West African services into an import call in Durban as well.”