MNM African Shipping Line, the first privately-owned shipping line in
Africa, which recently commenced operations, has opened new business
frontiers for countries in West African region by connecting them
directly with new destinations.
The new shipping line, which has also appointed two subsidiaries –
Sifax Shipping Nigeria Limited and Sifax Ghana Limited – as its official
agents in Nigeria and Ghana, respectively, made its first call at
Barcelona port last week with “Orient Spirit” vessel, and will begin a
bi-weekly shipping service that will service ports in Southern Europe,
Morocco and the West Coast of Africa.
Some of the ports the new shipping line, which is the only African
container line, would be servicing include those of Barcelona, Sagunto,
Tangier, Casablanca, Agadir, Nouakchott, Dakar, Conakry, Lagos, Tema,
and Abidjan.
The establishment of MNM African Shipping Line, which is the first
African owned-container carrier, has brought about the emergence of a
new player in the African maritime and shipping landscape, which aims to
respond to international trade in Morocco and West Africa countries.
Speaking with newsmen in Lagos recently, Marcus Brickman, managing
director of Sifax Group, who disclosed that the shipping line will be
headquartered in Tangier, Morocco, said it would take advantage of the
shipping experience of Sifax Group to grow the business across the West
African Coast, particularly in Nigeria and Ghana, where it has formed a
partnership with the organisation.
According to him, the vessel, which has already left Barcelona for
Nigeria, is due to arrive later this week and will make Port and Cargo
Handling Service terminal at the Tin-Can Island port as its destination
port.
Sifax Group and the promoters of the shipping company will continue
to invest in the new business and hope to attract more volume for the
liner in the next two to three months time so as to break even.
Sifax Group has also perfected arrangement to offer importers and
exporters business incentives such as lower cost, flexible shipping
competitive rate and good transit timing for perishable by offering
direct service to attract high volume in the competitive market
environment, Brickman said.
“To attract trade volume that would help in growing MNM business in
Nigeria and Ghana, Sifax is targeting at attracting high export volume
so as to ensure that vessels that bring import do not go back empty.
Therefore, we will be partnering cocoa farmers, Okoma Oil in Benin City.
We will also look into partnering with exporters of sesema and cashew
seeds,” said Phil Ofulue, executive director, administration, Sifax
Group.
On why the Group ventured into the business of container shipping, he
said Sifax had been into the business of container shipping and
handling, and that the company had established strong contacts globally
that would help in growing MNM business amid competition. “This is
because there is still a large room and prospect for more investors to
participate in shipping business all over,” he said.
The establishment of the new shipping line will eventually become an
economic boost in Nigeria as we are looking at creating new employment
opportunities, because it will encourage the manufacturers to go into
the business of producing finished products for export, he said further.
“The terminal has been adjusted to accommodate the cargo that the
ship will be coming in with and we have trained our staff to offer
premium services to the ship to ensure good turnaround time of the
vessel,” said Olasunkanmi Olubi, assistant manager, commercial for
Sifax.
On the relationship with Sifax Group, Manal Guemmah, director of
commercial and marketing, MNM African Shipping, said the appointment
further validated the experience, integrity and high business rating
that it enjoyed in its areas of operations.
“MNM’s market entry strategy involves forming alliances with
organisations and businesses that share similar business vision and
philosophy with our company. Sifax Group has distinguished itself in
Nigeria’s maritime industry for about three decades. Its experience is
solid while its drive for excellence and success is inspiring. We are
highly privileged to enter into this partnership with Sifax Group both
in Ghana and Nigeria,” he said.
On his own part, Henry Ajoh, the head shipping, Sifax Group,
expressed the readiness of the company to deliver the excellent value
that had become its trade mark over the years.
“This partnership with MNM will deepen our participation and
contribution in facilitating international trade across Africa and
Europe. We have been deploying all our resources and expertise to make
the business venture a massive success. We have had extensive
discussions with importers, exporters, local agents, government agencies
in order to achieve all set objectives,” he said.
The vessel, Orient Spirit, is expected to make its first call in Lagos at the Terminal C of the Tin-Can Island Port on May 8, 2015.
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