Hapag-Lloyd will commence a new container service, called West Africa 1 (WA 1) Service, with a fortnightly frequency, connecting Tanger Med, Nouakchott, Freetown, Conakry and Monrovia.
The first sailing is scheduled for 15 May and the German shipping line is going to be represented by third-party agents in these ports.
WA1 Service will have the following port rotation:Â Tanger Med, Morocco – Nouakchott, Mauritania – Freetown, Sierra Leone – Conakry, Guinea – Monrovia, Liberia – Tanger Med, Morocco
The WA1 service will be taking the Nouakchott call from Hapag-Lloyd’s Dakar Express (DEX) Service to continue covering this port, while the DEX will be discontinued at the end of April.
Dheeraj Bhatia, senior managing director for Middle East, India and Africa at Hapag-Lloyd, commented, “The service’s launch reaffirms Hapag-Lloyd’s strong commitment to expanding its presence in (West) Africa. It will enable us to better serve our customers and offer them more flexible and efficient solutions. Our customers in this region will have access to Hapag-Lloyd’s global network via Tangier and will see the added opportunities by expanding our operations to new markets in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.”
Moreover, the Hamburg-based container carrier announced a new rotation and new timing for its West Africa Express (WAX) Service. The updated service will cover Tanger Med, Morocco – Dakar, Senegal – Tema, Ghana – Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire – Tanger Med, Morocco
The first sailing with the new rotation is scheduled for 7 May.