It’s harder for most African countries to trade with each other than with the rest of the world and that retards economic growth, says a recent World Bank report. Regional fragmentation now threatens to become more costly because eurozone troubles and sluggish US growth stands to reduce African GDP growth by as much as 1.3 per cent this year, the report warns. Authors of De-Fragmenting Africa: Deepening Regional Trade Integration…

David Skov, a Dane who has been with Maersk Group for 16 years has been appointed to head Maersk Line operations in South China. A statement said that he started as a management trainee with the shipping line in 1995 and has since worked in various business units such as Maersk Broker and APM Terminals. Before moving to Hong Kong, he was in Africa for the last decade. In his…

Danish shipping giant Maersk Line will drop its around Africa MEW1 loop on February 19, which links the west Mediterranean, West Africa, South Africa and the Middle East. This means there will be no service from Maersk between Dubai and West Africa outside its ME1 and Rumba loops that connect from Algeciras westbound to Dubai for a longer duration of a week, according to ComPair Data. The “round-trip” MEW1 makes…

Togo’s AfricaWest Cargo Airlines has introduced a B767F-300 freighter to its fleet, replacing the MD-11 it leased from the now-bankrupt Cargoitalia, enabling it to cover flights from Liege and Lome, with onward flights to Central and West African destinations twice a week. “The B767F-300 is a better aircraft. Among other things, it has temperature-controlled cargo interior, ideal for moving fresh food and perishables. Indeed, its inclusion to our operations will…