News / MSC to launch Asia-Mozambique service as East Africa trade matures

Photo: VesselFinder

MSC has announced plans to launch a service between Asia and Mozambique, representing the next step in the evolution of the Asia-East Africa trade.

The Cheetah service will launch with the departure of the 2,500 teu MSC Sheffield III from Shanghai on 3 November on a port rotation of Singapore-Colombo-Beira-Nacala-Singapore.

The vessel had previously been assigned to the carrier’s intra-regional Angola service, between West Africa and South Africa. However, AIS data now shows it steaming towards Singapore.

MSC has yet to advise how many vessels will be deployed on the service, but said it would complement its Oryx service between Asia and Kenya and Tanzania, which deploys five ships on a Singapore-Mombasa-Dar Es Salaam-Singapore rotation. The Cheetah service is likely to require a similar amount of tonnage to maintain a weekly schedule.

The new service announcement also underscores the growing maturity of the Asia-East Africa trade, with carriers increasingly focusing services on particular countries over broader regional services running south along East Africa’s coastline.

This has come hand in hand with rapid growth in container traffic from the Far East to sub-Sharan Africa, with Container Trades Statistics’ data showing year-to-date volume growth of more than 26% ,up to the end of August.

Source: Container Trades Statistics

For shippers using the port of Beira, the Cheetah service will represent a second direct Asia link, and will provide competition for the Morex/M-Express service jointly operated by CMA CGM and Maersk, which deploys seven vessels of 3,900 teu average capacity on a port rotation of Singapore-Tanjung Pelepas-Reunion-Maputo-Beira, according to the eeSea liner database.

In early August, CMA CGM launched the Kilima service, its first direct service from the Far East to Kenya and Tanzania, deploying eight vessels with an average capacity of 5,400 teu, on a port rotation of Shanghai-Ningbo-Nansha-Singapore-Colombo-Lamu-Mombasa-Dar Es Salaam-Colombo-Singapore.

Launched as standalone service, Japanese carrier ONE and X-Press Feeders have subsequently become slot-charterers on the service.