Safmarine expands its breakbulk services

Safmarine expands its breakbulk services Details have been released of the direction and focus that AP Moller-Maersk subsidiary Safmarine will be moving in the immediate future to open up an expanding market between Asia and Africa. Safmarine recently took delivery of the Safmarine Samba, the first of the six new Multi Purpose Vessels that it ordered in August 2008. Another five are due for delivery by the end of 2011. The ships are specifically designed to carry odd-sized and heavy cargo which is unsuitable for containers, such as locomotives, construction equipment, and steel products and pipes. Safmarine Samba was the first multipurpose ship to join the fleet since Safmarine became a part of the AP Moller-Maersk group in 1999. Altogether Safmarine operates with a fleet of 68 ships of which 15 are multipurpose vessels that can carry both breakbulk and containerized cargo. “Countries such as Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia have regular shipments of breakbulk cargo including equipment and rolling stock to Africa,” said Hu Ke, Safmarine’s Asia Line Manager, Multipurpose Service. “The swift development of China in recent years has also led to increased project cargo being shipped from China to Africa and raw materials from Africa to China.” Safmarine and AP Moller-Maersk believe that multipurpose ships are a more suitable alternative to standard container carriers in new and developing markets where port facilities and material requirements can vary considerably. To demonstrate the seriousness with which the company is taking on the trade Safmarine have asked their Asian Regional Head, Grant Daly, to set up a newly structured dedicated department. “Whilst focusing on our core strength and expertise in Africa, we believe that developing our multipurpose business in Asia is the right approach going forward,” said Daly. “The increasing global importance of the Asian economies, supported by the changing trade and sourcing patterns toward Asia make our commitment to this service ever more important.” The structure and design of a multipurpose ship means it can load and offload in smaller ports by using its own on board cranes and utilise ‘tween deck panels to construct separate stowage areas for under and on deck loading meaning both general cargo and box traffic can be loaded simultaneously. “Currently, we have a monthly service between Far East Asia and West Africa, with vessels calling at ports in China, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and West Africa,” said Ke. “The six new multipurpose ships will allow us to increase our frequency to a bi-weekly service, and cover more Asian ports, for example in Japan and Indonesia.