Africa-Press – Mozambique. The port of Beira, in central Mozambique, one of the busiest in the country, has introduced bulk shipment of copper exported from Southern Africa as an alternative to the current crisis in container transport, the managing company announced today.
“Bulk transport is an effective alternative to transporting copper containers out of Beira,” Cornelder said.
The operation “was successful” with “15,000 tonnes of copper cathodes loaded between 30 September and 5 October 2021, with the vessel [that received the cargo] sailing in the early hours of 6 October”.
“The cargo logistics service providers at the port and the Beira corridor,” which connects the city by road to the Machipanda border with Zimbabwe, “are committed to maximising the potential of bulk cargo transport to alleviate the current container crisis and will continue to offer this solution,” the company describes.
The port of Beira is one of the main exit points for copper produced in inland countries in southern Africa without direct access to the sea.
During the 2018 and 2019 financial years, the port handled more than 270,000 tonnes of copper from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo).
The growth continued in 2020: “exports from DRCongo increased by 116%”, and those from Zambia had “a growth of 88%”.
“The total amount of copper handled exceeded 500,000 tonnes transported via containers” in 2020 and is now being constrained by the impact of Covid-19 on logistics networks.
“As such, the port and corridor members have taken important steps towards reintroducing bulk copper loading in Beira, almost two decades after they switched to the containerised loading system,” he concluded.
The firms Access World (cargo agent) and Terra Mar Logistics (ship agent) participated in the operation together with Cornelder.
