Mediterranean Shipping Company has added another element to its expanding cold-chain expertise in South Africa by introducing an additional weekly direct service from the Port of Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) to the Mediterranean and Montreal.
The Eastern Cape Citrus Service would call at Mediterranean seaports via Las Palmas on the line’s existing network of feeder vessels, said Zane Godwin, MSC’s commercial executive in Durban.
Given the reliability required for time-sensitive cargo, MSC will deploy eight vessels, starting with the MSC Nederland III, which will arrive in Port Elizabeth on May 16.
The Eastern Cape Citrus Service’s rotation will be from PE to the Port of Las Palmas from where it will call at Rotterdam, Antwerp and Le Havre.
Rotation time is 13 days to the Canary Islands and 22, 23 and 25, respectively, to the ports in Holland, Belgium and France.
Introducing the new additional direct service further cements the cold-chain commitment of MSC to South Africa’s growing citrus-export capability following last month’s opening of a R350-million cold store warehouse in Cato Manor near the Port of Durban.
The cold store facility, capable of handling 10,000 pallets of packed citrus and managed by MSC’s intermodal logistics operator, Medlog, confirmed the line’s intention to stay ahead of the fast-growing global demand for more South African citrus.