OTAL names new vessel 'Kissama' on the 'Angolan Shuttle' (15/03/04)
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In adhering to its tradition of naming vessels after prominent West African towns, OT Africa Line, the specialist West African carrier, has christened one of the four container vessels it employs on its Angolan Feeder Service, Kissama, after one of Angola's most famous National parks.

The Kissama's maiden voyage is expected to depart from Lisbon on the 29th March.

Rachel Bennett, OTAL's Marketing Manager comments:

" The Kissama or Quicama National Park (as it is known in Portuguese) is situated in the northwestern part of Angola approximately 70 kilometres from Luanda, the capital of Angola. Initially established as a game reserve in 1938, Quicama was proclaimed a National Park in 1957. Due to various factors such as the 21-year war and widespread poaching, little is left of the once teeming herds that roamed the Park."

" However red buffalo, antelope, eiand, bushbuck, as well as marine turtles have been sighted in Quicama. And in 2003 under the name of 'Operation Noah's Ark', 200 elephants and scores of other animals were ferried by boat to Angola including antelope, waterbuck and cheetahs taken from game reserves in South Africa."

" The Kissama Foundation was set up in 1996 by a group of South Africans and Angolans who were concerned about the present state of Angola's National Parks and the conservation of the country's natural resources. The President of the Republic of Angola, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is the Patron of the Foundation."

Four container vessels operate on the Angolan Shuttle providing a frequency of every 10 days. The shuttle calls at the North Atlantic ports of Leixoes and Lisbon (Portugal) before calling at the African ports of Dakar (Senegal), Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) and Luanda (Angola) followed by Abidjan, Monrovia (Liberia), Freetown (Sierra Leone) and Dakar.

Rotation for the Angolan Shuttle:

	Leixoes
Dakar Freetown Monrovia Abidjan		Lisbon Dakar   Abidjan
	Luanda

4 vessels
40 day rotation
10 day frequency

Built in 1983 and registered under the Antigua flag, Kissama is capable of loading 582 TEU (at 14 tonnes each) and is fitted with 50 electrical points to accommodate 20ft and 40ft refrigerated containers. The vessel is 127 metres long, has a breadth of 28 and a deadweight of 8,020 tonnes.

Kissama also has two cranes on board which each have a 35 tonne lift capacity. When working together, the cranes can offer a lift capacity of 70 tonnes at an 18 metre outreach or 50 tonnes with a 24 metre outreach. Consequently, they are able to transport heavy and otherwise awkward loads as well as containers and general cargo.

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Notes to editors:
OTAL is one of the largest and longest established operators serving the trades to, from and within West Africa (Morocco-Angola). Established in 1975, the company operates a fleet of multipurpose ro-ro and container vessels.

OTAL operates a range of transport services complementing its regular liner operations. These include West African terminal operations and liner agency services, customs clearance, cargo consolidation, shipping and airfreight handling, storage and warehousing, project logistics and trucking. The company delivers cargo throughout West Africa including the inland destinations such as Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Chad, Mali and Niger.

Issued by:
Marketing Department
OT Africa Line
52 Charlotte Street
Birmingham B3 1AR UK

Tel: + 44 (0) 121 236 5046
Fax: + 44 (0) 121 236 1196
Website: www.otal.com
Email: rmb@otal.com

Further information:
http://www.kissama.org/

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