China has initiated the first river-ocean vehicle cum container shipping route. As part of the Belt and Road scheme, Italian ro-ro specialist Grimaldi Lines is deploying two Container Ro-Ro (ConRo) ships to transport Chinese-made cars and containerised cargoes from Taicang Port along the Yangtze River to Durban, South Africa and Lagos, Nigeria.
Chinese authorities said this connection aims to meet demand for Chinese-made vehicles from African consumers.
The service started on 20 April, when Grimaldi’s ConRo vessel, Grande Abidjan, carrying more than 2,700 vehicles, departed Haitong Automobile Terminal in Taicang port, which is in Suzhou city.
It is the first Ro-Ro route in the Yangtze River Delta with a direct connection to Africa, marking the addition of a new channel for Taicang to serve the global expansion of Chinese automobiles. The service also provides another avenue for hinterland enterprises to ship their goods to Africa.
Two ships are currently in operation on this monthly service, with the other ship being Great Tema. Both Grande Abidjan and Great Tema carry vehicles and machinery below their decks, and containers on the decks. The container capacities of Great Tema and Grande Abidjan are 2,000 TEU and 1,800 TEU, respectively.
Deploying ConRo vessels offers a more competitive logistics solution for the export of Chinese-made cars and construction machinery to markets such as Africa.
Chinese officials said: “This route not only opens up a stable and efficient trade channel with Africa for Suzhou and enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta, but will also boost China-Africa economic cooperation.”
Alison Koo
Asia Correspondent
