Ocean Africa brings on another ship

Ocean Africa Container Line, the Durban-based shipping line specialising in coastal liner services has introduced its latest ship on the West Coast service between Durban and Luanda.

The vessel is the 1022-TEU capacity Doria, which was fixed by Ocean Africa in June this year for a period of four years and becomes the largest container vessel yet deployed by the South African-domiciled shipping line.

Built in 1987, the 10,811-gt Doria has an overall length of 146m, a beam of 23.1m and a draught of 8m and operates at a given speed of 17 knots. Previous names under which the ship has sailed include ANL Pioneer, MSC Kiwi and Everett Express, but for the next four years at least the Doria is set to become a regular sight along the southern African coast.

When Doria sailed from Durban last Thursday at the commencement of Voyage 02 she was carrying some 762 TEU. According to Ocean Africa's Line Executive Mahmood Simjee, this is the single largest load ever for one of the company's coastal vessels.

Source: www.ports.co.za