Mediterranean Shipping has announced that it will deploy 8000TEU class ships on the Far East-West Route. SEROJA ENAM 8540TEU will board the adjusted Africa Express in Shanghai on December 19. West Africa is only attached to Lome Container Terminal (LCT), which is the only Terminal in west Africa capable of handling 8000TEU. The joint venture for MSC’s terminal subsidiary TIL and China Merchants will handle 14,000TEU vessels in accordance with the medium-term plan. At present, other shipping companies have replaced 4000TEU ships with 6000-6500TEU ships for the West African route, while MSC’s 8000-9000TEU ships are the largest. This action stems from MSC’s intention to make Lome a hub port for West Africa. The Lome feeder network will carry cargo from other ports in West Africa.
Africa Express Affiliate after adjustment: Shanghai, Ningbo, Hainan,Chiwan, Singapore, Port Louis, Cape Town, Lome, Ngqura (aka Coega), Singapore, Shanghai The transport capacity is 11*4000TEU.