The port of Beira, 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 transportthe management company announced on Friday.

"Fractional shipments are an effective alternative to transporting copper containers out of Beira," Cornelder says. 

The operation "was successful" with "15,000 tons of copper cathodes loaded between September 30 and October 5, 2021, and the ship [that received the cargo] undocked in the early hours of October 6."

"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 maximizing the potential of fractional cargo transportation 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 the landlocked countries of southern Africa.

During fiscal years 2018 and 2019, the port handled more than 270,000 tons of copper from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo).

The growth continued in 2020: "DRCongo's exports increased by 116%" and Zambia's had "a growth of 88%." 

"The total amount of copper handled exceeded 500,000 tons transported via containers" in 2020 and is now being limited 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 at Beira, almost two decades after they switched to the containerized loading system," he concluded. 

Participating in the operation together with Cornelder were the firms Access World (cargo agent) and Terra Mar Logistics (ship agent).

Lusa Agency