Africa trade not mature enough for set services
Jonathan Boonzaier
4 November 2005
Tradewinds
Visitors to Dubai International Airport will immediately notice the large number of African traders with vast amounts of luggage waiting to board flights to their home countries.
A drive past the enormous cargo depot at the same airport will reveal many ancient Boeing 707 and 727 freighters waiting to carry consumer goods to these same African countries.
As Dubai is a major hub for the African trading community, it comes as something of a surprise to the casual observer that there are very few container services between the Middle East and Africa.
Liner companies questioned by TradeWinds say that trade to Africa is not yet developed enough to justify the existence of regular containerised liner services. They say the transport is seasonal and inconsistent - and therefore not suitable to a regular service.
"There are cargoes available but these are more suitable for general cargo and break-bulk ships," said AM Elahinia, former managing director of IRISL Asia.
Tilahun Yimer, Ethiopian Shipping Line's (ESL) Dubai-based regional representative, concurs. "The ports and markets that we serve are not sophisticated or affluent enough to support full containerisation. There is still a high level of infrastructure development taking place, which makes multipurpose vessels more suitable for the type of cargo carried," he explained.
While both IRISL and ESL operate semi-regular break-bulk services between Africa and the Middle East, they are not without stiff competition.
Scattered around the backstreets of Deira in Dubai are a host of small shipping and trading companies that operate one or two general cargoships to various destinations along the east coast of Africa.
These small, elderly vessels at the bottom of the shipping chain can be found in almost every Middle East port, although they are often overshadowed by the large, modern containerships belonging to liner majors. Nevertheless, they carry a significant percentage of the cargo moving into Africa.
They compete fiercely with the wooden cargo dhows that operate as far afield as Zanzibar and the Comoros Islands.
Industry observers say that although ignored by the rest of the shipping industry, these small general cargoships and dhows still play a vital part in Dubai and Africa's trading economy and will be around for a long time yet.
Jonathan Boonzaier
4 November 2005
Tradewinds
Visitors to Dubai International Airport will immediately notice the large number of African traders with vast amounts of luggage waiting to board flights to their home countries.
A drive past the enormous cargo depot at the same airport will reveal many ancient Boeing 707 and 727 freighters waiting to carry consumer goods to these same African countries.
As Dubai is a major hub for the African trading community, it comes as something of a surprise to the casual observer that there are very few container services between the Middle East and Africa.
Liner companies questioned by TradeWinds say that trade to Africa is not yet developed enough to justify the existence of regular containerised liner services. They say the transport is seasonal and inconsistent - and therefore not suitable to a regular service.
"There are cargoes available but these are more suitable for general cargo and break-bulk ships," said AM Elahinia, former managing director of IRISL Asia.
Tilahun Yimer, Ethiopian Shipping Line's (ESL) Dubai-based regional representative, concurs. "The ports and markets that we serve are not sophisticated or affluent enough to support full containerisation. There is still a high level of infrastructure development taking place, which makes multipurpose vessels more suitable for the type of cargo carried," he explained.
While both IRISL and ESL operate semi-regular break-bulk services between Africa and the Middle East, they are not without stiff competition.
Scattered around the backstreets of Deira in Dubai are a host of small shipping and trading companies that operate one or two general cargoships to various destinations along the east coast of Africa.
These small, elderly vessels at the bottom of the shipping chain can be found in almost every Middle East port, although they are often overshadowed by the large, modern containerships belonging to liner majors. Nevertheless, they carry a significant percentage of the cargo moving into Africa.
They compete fiercely with the wooden cargo dhows that operate as far afield as Zanzibar and the Comoros Islands.
Industry observers say that although ignored by the rest of the shipping industry, these small general cargoships and dhows still play a vital part in Dubai and Africa's trading economy and will be around for a long time yet.