After the reopening of the ASAF line of CMA-CGM, the world’s leading shipping company, the Port of Kribi recently accommodated a vessel of the WAX 4 maritime line of the Chinese shipowner Cosco Shipping. The berthing of the COSCO KOREA on the quay of the container terminal of the Port of Kribi on 20 February was neither a trivial event, nor a routine call as is usual on this terminal.After the reopening of the ASAF line of CMA-CGM, the world’s leading shipping company, the Port of Kribi recently accommodated a vessel of the WAX 4 maritime line of the Chinese shipowner Cosco Shipping. The berthing of the COSCO KOREA on the quay of the container terminal of the Port of Kribi on 20 February was neither a trivial event, nor a routine call as is usual on this terminal.
The arrival of this 334-metre vessel with a capacity of 8,500 TEUs (20-foot containers) marked the launch of Cosco's new direct Asia/Africa service, the WAX 4 (West Africa Express). It is a direct line that was announced at the end of 2023 by the Chinese Cosco Shipping Line, the world’s 4th largest shipping company. The arrival of this new service in the Port of Kribi is the result of outstanding quay performance recorded in the Port. Thanks to the operational excellence advocated by the Top Management of the Port Authority of Kribi (PAK) since the beginning of commercial operations, the Port of Kribi has been recording exceptional performance on its various terminals, especially the container terminal and the multipurpose terminal.
This operational efficiency has resulted in the Port bagging numerous awards at the regional level, namely the “Africa’s best quayside productivity” awarded on 9 November 2023 in Brussels by the Rebranding Africa Awards jury. With this new service in the Port of Kribi, customers and partners can now have two direct lines to South-East Asia in addition to the ASAF line. For Michael MAMA, the PAK Operations Manager, the arrival of the Cosco Shipping Line gives the Port of Kribi the opportunity to increase its market share from and to East Asia.
