December 2 - Later this month Damco will open a new office in Maputo, Mozambique to improve the company's presence and service levels in South East Africa.

For the last 18 months, Damco has been operation in Mozambique from an office in Beira, supporting the land-locked countries of Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.

"Beira is mainly serviced through feeder vessels via Durban (draft restrictions prevent larger vessels from calling at Beira) and this generally implies longer transit times. We made a conscious decision to improve on this, ensuring that customers can both source and export directly through Maputo. This increases the options, especially for mining companies by offering inland transport solutions and stuffing services in Maputo. The port has recently experienced an increasing number of shipping lines offering direct calls from the Far East, making it a great time for this expansion," says Christian Roeder, Damco Mozambique country manager. 

The company has confirmed that both the the new office and the existing office in Beira are geared up to handle over-dimensional and heavy project cargoes, and this is a target sector for the offices.