APL Unveils New Africa Service

APL, the global container transportation provider, today announced the formation of a
new East Africa service that will extend its reach in the region and help satisfy increased global customer demand.

The East Africa service (EAF) will provide reliable, dedicated connections to and from East Africa via Aden. The EAF will feature weekly port calls at Mombasa, Dar Es Salaam and Aden, where it connects with APL's extensive global linehaul services.

"Today, importers in Africa use local feeder services or regional carriers to bring goods to and from East Africa. With our new initiatives, customers globally can bring cargo in and out of East Africa faster and more efficiently," said APL's Asia/Middle East President Daniel McHugh.

The EAF provides customers with the same seamless transportation management in East Africa they have come to expect from APL elsewhere. That includes reliable transit times, shipping visibility, IT tools and access to APL's global network.

The EAF will commence from Aden on July 1, and cargo acceptance has already started. The service features some of the industry's fastest transit times between East Africa and points in Asia/Middle East and Europe and the Americas.

"The time is right to enter East Africa," McHugh said, "Our customers have told us that they want global transportation services, including also Kenya and Tanzania."

Service to Kenya and Tanzania provides APL's customers with a convenient linkage to landlocked regions such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Zambia, Uganda and the Great Lakes region.

"Our East Africa service opens a new market for us by expanding our existing operations in the Middle East. There are more opportunities, particularly for our customers in Europe, who are major trading partners with Africa," said Ken Soerensen, President, APL Europe.

APL provides customers around the world with container transportation services through a network combining high-quality intermodal operations with state-of-the-art information technology. APL is the container transportation arm of Neptune Orient Lines Limited, a global logistics and transportation company engaged in shipping and related businesses.