West Africa Line (WAL), and P&O Nedlloyd, both international shipping companies, have joined forces to operate four vessels from West Africa to Europe. The vessels are variously equipped to carry between 910 and 1,107 sea containers. The joint operation between the two companies was launched at the Port of Tema on Monday, with one of the vessels MV Ubangi undertaking its maiden voyage with 100 sea containers to Lagos, Nigeria.

Mr.Kim Ulrich, Shipping Manager of Scanship (Ghana) Limited, agents for WAL and Mr Ton Van Schyndel, General Manager of P&O Nedlloyd, performed the launching service. Mr Ulrich said the new service would be carrying exports like cocoa, coffee, sawn timber and yams, with a frequency call of 10 days between Tema and Takoradi Ports. He said the European Service would call at Hamburg, Antwerp, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Le Havre. In Africa, the vessels will call at Dakar, Conakry, Abidjan, Tema, Lagos and Douala on the southbound leg. It will serve Takoradi, San Pedro and Abidjan again on the northbound leg. Rotterdam and Amsterdam will be served via Antwerp. Mr Ulrich said the service offers dry, ventilated and open top containers and flat racks for all shipments. He said WAL, a subsidiary of Dutch African Lines (DAL), started their new and independent liner service from West Africa to Europe at the beginning of August 1998. Mr Ulrich said due to the competitive rates, efficient service and short transit time of only 10 days to Europe, WAL services have attracted most Ghanaians as well as foreign based importers and exporters during the first year of its operation.