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OT Africa Line Services > Corporate Information > Overview OT Africa
Line The name of the group's shipping linecarrying worldwide cargo to and from West Africa. As a liner operator, OT Africa Line 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.
OT Africa Line also consists of the following company divisions: OT Africa Line Port Agency The United Kingdom agent for OT Africa Line. With an office in Birmingham, this department is responsible for OT Africa Line's commercial and operational interests in the UK. OT Africa Line France SA OT Africa Line representative office located in Paris with a dedicated sales team covering France and francophone West Africa. OT Africa Line Global Agency Network OT Africa Line 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. History
of the Line 1975 - OT Africa Line 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. 1995 - Acquired two large multi-purpose ro-ro/container sister vessels, Nedlloyd
Rochester and Nedlloyd Rotterdam. Renamed MV Kintampo and MV Kagoro respectively. Aug 2000 OT Africa Line offers new barge service from Rotterdam to Antwerp Mar 2001 OT Africa Line moves from Port Harcourt to Onne to improve terminal efficiency May 2001 Thierry Le Roux joins OT Africa Line as Managing Director / OT Africa Line expands into the Chinese and Nordic markets Dec 2001 OT Africa Line to benefit from US$5million investment in new IT system aimed at enhancing customer services 2002 OT Africa Line joins the EWATA conference [www.ewata.org] 2004 OT Africa Line expands into Baltic markets 2006 OT Africa Line 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 OT Africa Line/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 OT Africa Line's success is having long term commitment to and confidence in the West Africa market. OT Africa Line 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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