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OT Africa Line (OTAL)
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The name of the group's shipping linecarrying worldwide cargo to and from West Africa. As a liner operator, OTAL transports cargo from Northern Europe to West Africa co-operating a fleet of no fewer than 19 vessels. These vessels serve West Africa directly from Europe and also serve a range of coastal ports from Nouakchott in Mauritania to Luanda in Angola.

OTAL also consists of the following company divisions:

OTAL Port Agency

The United Kingdom agent for OT Africa Line. With an office in Birmingham, this department is responsible for OTAL's commercial and operational interests in the UK.

OTAL France SA

OTAL's representative office located in Paris with a dedicated sales team covering France and francophone West Africa.

OTAL Global Agency Network

OTAL employs a large network of agents throughout Europe / Baltics and West / Central Africa to sell its service, consolidate and direct cargoes and to respond to its operational requirements. With over 60 worldwide agency offices covering 41 countries, we have company representatives in almost every major market that trades between Europe and West Africa.
The line is able to draw on considerable resources and in-house expertise which includes fully computerised documentation procedures and excellent cargo tracking systems.

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History of the Line
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1975 - OT Africa Line (OTAL) was established as a pioneering, roll-on roll-off congestion beating transport system to Nigeria. Nigeria went through a massive construction boom with the discovery of oil in the mid 1970s. With the stampede to provide construction materials and equipment came a port crisis in which queues of up to 360 ships waited off Lagos to discharge their goods.

By providing ships that could load and discharge quickly, taking up a minimum of quay space, we could overcome the congestion difficulties and thereby provide customers with a preferable express service. This method had broad appeal and was soon to become an established alternative to that provided by the conference lines.

1979 - Expanded our range of port calls to include Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire and Tema in Ghana.

As OTAL and other independent carriers refined their services and shippers began to look beyond the conferences, so the trade changed to reflect this development. The conference system, having provided valuable innovation and stability for nearly 150 years, began a sharp decline. This was partly due to a contraction in West African trade and partly due to the rise of independent carriers. Another factor was the poor performance of West Africa's national lines.

A proliferation of African lines supported by European conference carriers placed huge pressure on the system particularly as these lines soon became administrative and financial burdens on the other conference members. The more the pressure increased the more the conference members looked for ways of securing market share and undermining the independent competitors.

1992 - The European conference members were fined heavily by the European Commission for co-opting with African lines and local Shippers' Council authorities in an attempt to stitch up the market and force the independent lines out of business. The Commission took a dim view of this and effectively forced the dismantling of the conference apparatus to prevent further abuses. As a result, the West Africa trade is now more or less conference free and all carriers on the Europe-West Africa trade are now classified as independents.

1995 - Acquired two large multi-purpose ro-ro/container sister vessels, Nedlloyd Rochester and Nedlloyd Rotterdam. Renamed MV Kintampo and MV Kagoro respectively.

Jan 1998 OTAL announced a new company structure. A unifying holding company was created named OTAL Holdings Limited. Under this name three distinct divisions were created with the objective of simplifying the existing corporate structure. OT Africa Line: encompasses our global intermodal operations to, from and within West Africa together with a UK liner agency business. The rationalisation of various names has meant that OTAL's branding is now more clearly defined. Antrak Marine: oversees group vessel ownership, ship management, chartering and crewing services. Antrak Logistics Group (ALG): manages the group's West African logistics, ship agency functions, special projects and airfreight operations (Antrak Freight).The trading names African Ro Ro, Antrak Liner Services (ALS) and Crosstrades Limited will no longer exist. These companies will merge with OT Africa Line to create a single, streamlined entity.

1998 Competition remains fierce. The trade suffered from over-tonnage, violent peaks and troughs and rates spiralled. Maersk buys CMBT to become the largest competitor on the trade.

Oct 1998 OTAL launches own liner agency OTAL North America in USA and Canada

Jun 1999 OTAL launches MV Kindia named after a town in Guinea / OTAL's Chairman Honoured for Lifetime Achievement / OTAL containership's commence calls at Rouen

Aug 1999 OTAL launches MV Kribi named after Cameroon's second port

Oct 1999 Considering the present situation in the trade and the interests of the company, OTAL and Antrak International were sold to the Bolloré Group. The object of this move reinforces the Group's position in the Europe-Africa trade with the important contribution that OTAL can make, particularly in the traffic flows from the UK, Germany and Benelux to the anglophone markets of Ghana and Nigeria.

The OTAL organisation remains independent from Delmas, a Bolloré Group liner shipping subsidiary, although potential economies in matters of common interest such a ships and containers will be researched and evaluated. The combination of the Bollore services - OTAL and Delmas means we are now the number one player in the North Continent - West Africa market by volume.

Jan 2000 OTAL moves port operations in the Netherlands from Rotterdam to Amsterdam
2000 / 2001 OTAL wins 'Shipping Line of the Year' for two years running

Aug 2000 OTAL offers new barge service from Rotterdam to Antwerp

Mar 2001 OTAL moves from Port Harcourt to Onne to improve terminal efficiency

May 2001 Thierry Le Roux joins OTAL as Managing Director / OTAL expands into the Chinese and Nordic markets

Dec 2001 OTAL to benefit from US$5million investment in new IT system aimed at enhancing customer services

2002 OTAL joins the EWATA conference [www.ewata.org]
2004 OTAL expands into Baltic markets

2006 OTAL is purchased by CMA-CGM who also acquired Delmas, Setramar, a 50% stake in SudCargos, Delmas' vessels, containers and headquarters in Le Havre.

CMA CGM, a major player on the East-West and North-South trade routes, will benefit from OTAL/Delmas’s commercial positioning in Africa to further develop its worldwide presence.

The complementarities between the companies, which have worked together for many years, will allow benefits of a significantly extended African service network, notably from Asia, the Americas, Indian Sub Continent where CMA CGM is particularly strong.

OTAL has built up a considerable reputation for reliability and flexibility meeting the ever-changing needs of the trade. Our fast response to the peaks and troughs in demand has enabled us to maintain a first class service. This is exemplified by our growth beyond our traditional North European sphere of operations i.e. in the USA, Far East, Middle East and Indian Sub-Continent.

This flexibility is especially important when considering how fragile West Africa's economies are and how prone the region is to political upheavals, foreign debt pressures, depressed commodity prices affecting export revenues, and foreign exchange shortages. Part of OTAL's success is having long term commitment to and confidence in the West Africa market.

* Figures from CMA & BRS Alphaliner

OTAL has a new President: Mr Alain Wils who will co-ordinate the development of group investments in West and Central Africa and will manage the partnerships with the SDV group. Mr Bill Hobbs becomes the new Managing Director.

Click here for timeline, of CMA-CGM's history.

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