The Port of Beira has since last Friday, 28 April, one more shipping line. It is the Gold Star Line (GSL), an Asian corporation based in Hong Kong that will make Mozambican port services more competitive.
GSL will provide containerised cargo transport services linking the port of Beira to the Far East, via southwest Asia, via Singapore and Mauritius. The Asian corporation will also operate, initially on a fortnightly basis, and later may dock its ships once a week.
The deputy executive director of Cornelder de Moçambique, the port of Beira concessionaire, António Libombo, said that the fact that the port had recently been classified by the World Bank as the best port in the southern region of Africa in terms of performance in containerised cargo had boosted the entry of the new shipping line, as “this international recognition made the negotiation process that we had been carrying out for years easier and that is now a reality.
“We have been trying to win new lines for six years and finally, after a lot of work and great commitment in the commercial area, it was possible to attract the Gold Star Line. This is a great achievement, as we will be able to offer more and better services and also more quality, to our clients, both in Mozambique and in the region”, said António Libombo.
The entry of the new line comes in response to the desire of operators who “for a long time have been clamouring for more shipping lines in the port of Beira.
The head of Cornelder de Moçambique also revealed the negotiation “of another new shipping line, of an international dimension, which will represent an excellent gain for the country and the region,” adding that “a new line brings many advantages, makes the corridor more competitive and customers thus have more options at their disposal in terms of shipping lines and also destinations for their export products.
GSL is the fifth shipping line operating at the port of Beira besides MSC, PIL, MAERSK and CMA-CGM.
