Famous Pacific Shipping News

The Rotterdam (Netherlands)-based neutral consolidator FPS Famous Pacific Shipping has launched a new, weekly ocean LCL service from Rotterdam to St Petersburg (Russia) and vice versa for general groupage cargo. The service provides an alternative to the traditional routing via Vilnius, and cuts transit times from 15 to four days. In addition to serving St Petersburg, FPS offers onforwarding to several key inland destinations including Moscow. Clearance in Russia is performed at the port or, where required, goods can be trucked in bond for clearance at the final destination. Through its global NVOCC network, FPS Rotterdam serves many destinations worldwide with its own weekly consol boxes.

Famous Pacific Shipping recently shipped six scrubber modules from the U.S. to Australia, working with its U.S. agent, Oakland-based Sea Shipping Lines (SSL) Lines.  The units, moved for a major client that specializes in providing crushing equipment for the mining industry, were around 4.8 m in diameter and the heaviest piece weighed approximately 70 tonnes.  FPS says that the specialized trailers that carried the scrubber modules required traffic escorts and power lines had to be lifted on route.

Famous Pacific Shipping (FPS) Rotterdam has increased its South American oceanfreight connections with the launch of a new fortnightly consolidation service to Cartagena, Colombia. This service adds to FPS Rotterdam’s existing services to Santos, Buenos Aires, Callao, Valparaiso and Colon. This new direct fortnightly oceanfreight forwarding service between Rotterdam and Cartagena can handle FCL and LCL shipments and has been developed in connection with FPS Rotterdam’s new partner, MSL Colombia. Jean Paul van Munster, managing director of FPS Rotterdam, said “We are building on our strong and successful network from Rotterdam to South America serving five ports by adding a sixth destination.

Two members of the Famous Pacific Shipping network are cooperating to expand their portfolio of forwarding services in the niche trade between the UK and Mauritius. UK forwarder and NVOCC operator F.S. Mackenzie (FSM) is working with Mauritius shipping group, Somatrans to develop scheduled weekly services to the main port of Port Louis, for both LCL and FCL cargoes. Explained FSM's Managing Director, Alfred Stienen: "Mauritius, at little more than 700 square miles, is one of the fastest-expanding economies in Sub-Saharan Africa. F.S. Mackenzie expects trade to continue to expand this year, based on strong trends last year. Forecasts are for growth in Mauritius' GDP at about 5% for 2004.