According to Jorg Knuttel, MD of Safmarine MPV, an experienced and knowledgeable shipping agency can assist South African shippers in cutting down on the risks and complexities of shipping project and break bulk cargo to West Africa.

“Our advice to shippers looking for reliability, flexibility and consistency when shipping their project and break bulk cargo to West Africa is to partner with companies who have a sound knowledge of African ports and conditions, and who are able to offer the services that suit the market.”

Safmarine’s recent appointment of Socopao as its full liner agent in South Africa falls in line with the company’s need to find the right shipping partner and is also key to its growth aspirations in West Africa.

“Safmarine MPV has appointed Socopao South Africa to provide a complete shipping agency service in the South African market and main ports, and to handle the MPV vessels as of April.

“Socopao is part of Bolloré Africa Logistics, one of the leading integrated logistics networks in Africa and a shipping agency with the knowledge, experience and presence we need to link South Africa with the rest of the continent and help us grow our and our customers’ business in this region.”

Knuttel says the combination of Safmarine MPV and Socopao’s specialised and complementary skills not only provides the market with a trustworthy, reliable product, but it will also go a long way to helping South African businesses take advantage of the many opportunities in the West African project cargo market.

“From a project cargo perspective, South African companies have the technology, the infrastructure and the connections they need to maximise the opportunities and we see enormous potential for increasing business between South Africa and West Africa on the back of the new Safmarine MPV-Socopao South Africa partnership.”