Somalilandsun: Djibouti Shipping Company, a new feeder line based in East Africa, has launched earlier this month its first container service. The company was created by a subsidiary of the Djibouti Port and Free Zone Authority.
The company acquired the geared 1,118 teu Asian Sun in March, renaming it Africa Sun. The president of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, was on hand to see the ship ahead of its first voyage under its new name.
The maiden voyage departed for Bosasso, a small port located in the Puntland state of Somalia, last week, according to Alphaliner.
“Djibouti is served on a weekly basis by major carriers including Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, COSCO-OOCL and PIL, while niche carriers, such as Linea Messina and Global Feeder Shipping, also call at the port on a regular basis. The port also acts as a gateway for land- locked Ethiopia and it is thus regularly served by the general cargo and multipurpose vessels of the Ethiopian Shipping Line,” Alphaliner explained in its latest weekly report.
The country has also been at the centre of a long simmering dispute with global terminal operator DP World over the rights to operate its main container terminal.
By Sam Chambers
