[EN-SEA] "MOL" Gears Up For Emerging Markets With Service Reshuffle

JAPAN's Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has announced, as part of its "Gear Up MOL" corporate campaign, that it will re-arrange its several Cape route, Far East, Indian Ocean and South America services deploying ships in the 3,800 TEU range.

From May 7, the Mozambique Zuid Africa Service (MZX) will cover Durban, currently served by the Asia-East Coast South America Service (CSW).

MZX frequency will also be increased from 10 days to seven, but in doing so will drop Indian Ocean Island port calls, which will then be covered by a new dedicated service, the Indian Ocean Islands Express (IOX).

The southbound CSW service will call at the new Ngqura port, 20 kilometres from Port Elizabeth, instead of Durban. MOL will also set up a new Angola Shuttle (AOS) to meet rising demand from Luanda.

"One major objectives in MOL's new mid-term "Gear Up! MOL" management plan, is to focus on emerging trades and countries.

We are the only Asian carrier that calls at the port of Ngqura as a hub port, which not only accommodates much larger ships, but is also designed to offer efficient transshipment," said MOL's liner manager TK Konishi.

Said Transnet terminals operations chief Nosipho Damasane: "Transnet Port Terminals looks forward to MOL's development in Ngqura and to the growth of partnership to both companies' mutual benefit."

The new service rotation for the Asia-East Coast South Africa service (CSW) is: Xingang, Dalian, Qingdao, Busan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ngqura, Santos, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Paranagua, Sao Francisco Do Sul, Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, Ngqura, Singapore, Hong Kong and back to Xingang.

With the new second call at Ngqura, which only opened last October, on its intra-Africa service, the revised SWX rotation will be: Durban, Ngqura, Cape Town, Walvis Bay, Abidjan, Tema, Lome, Cotonou, Douala, Ngqura and back Durban. This commences with the sailing of the MOL Heritage (Voy 0902A) on May 21 from Durban.

The new MZX service cuts out the Indian Ocean Islands at Port Louis, Reunion and Tamatave, but soon will include a call at Port Klang with a new rotation of Singapore, Durban, Maputo, Port Klang and Singapore starting May 8.

The Angola Shuttle Service (AOS) will have the following rotation: Ngqura, Luanda and Ngqura. It commences with the sailing of the MOL Silver Fern (Voy. 0011A) on June 4 from Ngqura.

Source : HKSG, 16.04.10.