June 7 - It's the end of the line for a stalwart of container shipping for Africa as OT Africa Line, a CMA-CGM group company, is rebranded this month under the Delmas brand.
This ends almost 40 years of shipping under the OT Africa Line flag.
As a liner operator, OT Africa Line has transported cargo between Northern Europe and West Africa co-operating a fleet of no fewer than 19 vessels. These vessels served West Africa directly from Europe and also served a range of coastal ports from Nouakchott in Mauritania to Luanda in Angola. It was established as a pioneering, roll-on roll-off congestion beating transport system to Nigeria as the country went through a massive construction boom with the discovery of oil in the mid-1970s.
In 2006, OT Africa Line was purchased by CMA-CGM which also acquired Delmas, Setramar, a 50 percent stake in SudCargos, Delmas' vessels, containers and headquarters in Le Havre. As a major player on the East-West and North-South trade routes, the CMA-CGM group sought to benefit from OT Africa Line/Delmas's commercial positioning in Africa to further develop its worldwide presence.
At the same time, DELMAS is reorganising its European agency network and is appointing the current agents for the following countries:
Germany - Ernst Glaessel GmbH; Ireland / Northern Ireland - Hamilton Shipping; The Netherlands - Slavenburg & Huyser; Scandinavia and Baltic - Maritime Transport & Agencies; UK - OTAL UK / DELMAS UK.
In the other countries, the DELMAS organisation remains the same.
