COSCO SHIPPING Specialized Carriers has announced a new Southeast Africa direct express weekly service.
According to COSCO, it loaded more than 20,000 cubic metres of goods, including engineering vehicles, equipment, and steel.
The vessel was set to embark on a journey spanning 6,550 nautical miles to Tanzania’s Port of Dar es Salaam, where it is expected to arrive in just over 20 days.
COSCO SHIPPING Specialized Carriers and Qingdao Port of Shandong Port Group co-hosted a launch conference for their Southeast Africa express service in Qingdao on the same day.
This event marks the launch of COSCO SHIPPING Specialized Carriers’ “Belt and Road” initiative product line, which aims to improve logistical efficiency and lower total logistics costs for all players involved.
As a result, Qingdao Port has been designated as the primary hub for the company’s general cargo liner operations in Northern China.
This pioneering route connects Asia, East Africa, and South Africa. Aside from Qingdao, the service departs from Chinese ports such as Zhangjiagang and Lianyungang and travels to significant destinations such as Dar es Salaam, Mombasa, Durban, and other major ports in Southeast Africa.
With a monthly frequency of four journeys and a capacity of 30,000 cubic metres each shipment, the service is expected to convey almost 1.5 million cubic metres of commodities to Southeast Africa each year.
The introduction of this direct express service reduces the fastest direct sailing time from China’s main ports to key Southeast African ports to approximately 20 days.
Recently, COSCO’s CHIMBUSCO Jiangsu conducted refuelling for the new methanol dual-fuel powered 1,300 TEU containership ‘NCL VESTLAND’ with 79.5 tonnes of methanol at Sanfu Shipbuilding in Taizhou.