Wilhelmsen makes its mark in Maputo

In a sign of growing confidence in the region, Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) has just established a presence in Mozambique’s capital port city of Maputo. This is part of a longer-term plan to set up branches at the other main port cities along the country’s eastern seaboard, including Beira, according to Durban-based MD, Prean Pather. “The company already has a strong presence on the east coast of Africa, from Egypt to South Africa,” he told FTW, “and this latest move is designed to keep up with the growth in Mozambique’s economy.” Although the country is currently sharing the weakening effects of the global recession, it has been earmarked as an area of considerable future potential. Said Pather: “In recent times, increased volumes of traffic from SA, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and other landlocked countries in Southern Africa have been directed through Mozambique. “If the fragile political agreement in Zimbabwe holds, and the Zimbabwe economy returns to its former productivity, imports and exports through Mozambique will soar.” He also pointed out that the shorter distance to the main mining areas of SA makes this a cost-effective route for both imports and exports inland. Furthermore, the increased pressure on SA ports has encouraged more operators to send cargo through Maputo to inland destinations. “Initially, the office will specialise in ship’s agency work and maritime logistics,” he said. “Later in the year, we will supply technical services and products from our Unitor range – and we will be the only ships’ service company in Mozambique with such a broad spread of products and services.” The establishment of the Maputo office followed an in-depth evaluation of the market. Said Pather: “We listened to our customers and determined what their needs were in this area, particularly in the field of maritime logistics.” The opening of the Maputo office is the culmination of all the company’s efforts and commitment to expanding its global network to partner with its customers in this region, according to Bert Stadler, commercial and projects manager in SA. “Strategically,” he said, “Maputo is the right place for us to have a presence in order to grow our business by servicing cross-border movements and customers.” This was supported by Jaun Bezuidenhout, the operations manager in Maputo. “One of the newest Wilhelmsen Ships Service projects,” he told FTW, “this office opened in a very adverse period. “The potential is there and we can only expect that the office will grow in the very near future.”