Maersk Line to resume service to Libya's Port of Benghazi starting Sept. 8 after suspending service since Feb. 22; company to closely monitor activities at Benghazi before deciding to service other ports

Alison Gallant

LOS ANGELES , August 30, 2011 (Industry Intelligence) – Maersk Line has announced that it will restart freight service to Libya Sept. 8 after suspending service since February 22, Reuters reported Aug. 30.

At this point, the company, a subsidiary of Copenhagen, Denmark-based shipping and oil conglomerate A.P. Moeller-Maersk, will restrict service to only the Port of Benghazi on the country’s eastern coast.

The first freight to be unloaded in Benghazi will be freight that’s been held in nearby Mediterranean ports since service was suspended due to unrest in the country, Michael Christian Storgaard, a Maersk spokesman told Reuters. The company is watching developments at Benghazi to determine the feasibility of servicing other ports in the country, he added.

Before service to Libya was suspended, Maersk had been providing service to three ports in the country at Misrata, Al-Khoms and Benghazi.

Storgaard also told Reuters that Maersk’s focus would be moving cargo related to humanitarian aid in addition to any freight that will help the country to recover.

La Spezia, Italy-based regional shipping company, Tarros S.p.A, restored service to Benghazi last month but is not calling at two other ports it had previously serviced, Tripoli and Misrata.

The primary source of this article is Reuters, London, England, Aug. 30, 2011.

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