May 27 - Safmarine MPV has enhanced its Europe-West Africa service with the launch of ENERGY, a new dedicated shipping service that will provide the oil and gas industry with routes into West Africa.
Jorg Knuttel, managing director of Safmarine MPV stated that the launch of the new ENERGY service and the merger of the company's two existing ACE and OPEX services to create the INDUSTRY service, represent a "significant milestone" for the multipurpose shipping line.
"Since becoming an independent and separate business unit within the Maersk Group a year ago, our goal has been to build a strong foundation for Safmarine MPV and to establish a product portfolio that allows us to better serve our growing customer base in the oil and gas and multipurpose markets," said Knuttel.
Safmarine's line director, Jean-Marc Thiebaut added that the ENERGY service was well received at the Breakbulk Europe exhibition in Antwerp.
The new service has an 18-day frequency and will make direct calls at Aberdeen, Antwerp and Portugal, before calling at the Nigerian port of Onne and Luanda, Sonils, Soyo and Lobito in Angola.
"Transit times will also be significantly shorter than those currently available," said Thiebaut.
The INDUSTRY service will also offer a fast and direct liner service for industrial projects, conventional cargo and containers between Europe and West Africa, serving Gabon's Port Gentil, Equatorial Guinea, as well as selected ports in Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, the DRC and Cameroon.
Standard features on both Safmarine Europe-West Africa services include heavy lift capabilities of up to 160 tonnes using the ship's own gear, and full IMDG/IMO capability.
Tanks for a Nigerian gas compression plant are loaded on a Safmarine MPV vessel.
