Multi-trade shipowner Safmarine has commenced a regular, multi-purpose vessel (MPV) service between Asia and West Africa.

Greg Ulicki, Safmarine's MPV Executive commented: 'We have used the positioning voyages of our brand new, Chinese-built, Safmarine Angela, Safmarine Andisa and Safmarine Akwaba into Europe to determine if there is a demand by our customers on this trade. Based on our success we have decided to open up a monthly service and we will flexibly deploy our assets in order to serve our customer's needs on this trade.'

The new service has commenced with the return of the Safmarine Akwaba from Africa to Asia full of eastbound cargo that is scheduled to arrive in Singapore on July 9 and thereafter at Zhangjiagang on the July 16.

From there the ship will head for Xingang (Tianjin) and as of July 22, will commence the monthly service that will offer fast transits directly into West Africa. As an example, the transit time from this Chinese port to Matadi will be approximately 27 days. Major West Africa ports that will be served include Namibe, Lobito, Luanda, Pointe Noire, Libreville, Douala, Malabo, Sao Tome, Durban, Lome, Tema, Takoradi, Abidjan and San Pedro.

Inducement calls at East African ports and additional Asian load ports call will also be scheduled to meet customer needs.

'The key to high customer demand for this service has been the ability for us to provide our customers the flexibility of loading with us cargo of any shape, size and weight, ' added Verner Hammeken, MPV manager for Safmarine in China.

'Our multi-purpose ships are equipped with cranes capable of loading, carrying and offloading commodities in bulk, out-of gauge project cargo, heavy lift and also containers with special cargo (such as reefers) into the most challenging African destinations. With so many infrastructure projects underway in West Africa this multi-purpose offering gives us a real edge.'

To date a variety of cargoes have been transported from Asia to West Africa, including four locomotives of 100 tons each for Angola Railways.