RORO vessels have the potential to complement southern Africa’s supply chain with its constrained logistics networks characterised by congested ports, weak road and rail infrastructure and high environmental costs.
Short for ‘roll-on and roll-off’, the RoRo solution accommodates the rolling on and off of trailers and vehicles – removing the need for cranes. It also reduces the need for direct road freight services which can be time-consuming, costly and unpredictable.
An efficient and cost-effective solution
“In Europe, North America, the Baltic Sea and Asia, RoRo vessels have proven to move cargo on short-sea shipping (SSS) routes, those shorter than 500 nautical miles, far more efficiently and cost-effectively. This service has the potential to benefit the southern African transport industry as it has the European market for decades,” says chief executive officer Argonaftis Shipping and Trading Ltd (MI), William Greig.
RoRo shipping represents a substantial share of the total cargo handled in the main ports of northern and southern Europe. It is used by the automotive, yellow equipment, forestry and electric equipment industries, as well as all forms of wheeled transport, including dangerous and petroleum cargoes.
The offering has met with approval by the road freight sector. “The time has come to mobilise from Europe and commence this service,” says Greig. Argonaftis will be implementing the service in the coming summer season. The project will be rolled out across ports including Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Maputo (Mozambique) and Walvis Bay (Namibia).
Relieving the pressure on southern Africa’s roads
By using the RoRo system, shippers and road freight operators can significantly reduce pressure on the road freight network. Transport companies can improve efficiencies and reduce costs.
“The cost-saving benefit for road freight operators will significantly improve their profitability – especially in the current global climate of cost pressures that affect margins,” explains Greig.
The cost-saving benefits are just a part of the value proposition and are a crucial consideration to transport operators. Without trucking, economies die.
“As an industry, we are keenly aware that the more efficient movement of goods has become a pivotal decision by environmentally-conscious companies, with a more acute focus on environment, social and governance (ESG),” says Greig. “From a sustainability perspective, SSS will contribute to the abatement of air pollution and reduce fossil fuel consumption in the transport sector. RoRos have a low carbon footprint compared with road transport. The bottom line for transport companies is greatly enhanced: a ‘win-win’ situation for all.”
The ESG is verified by recent European transport statistics, in which SSS accounted for 1% of energy consumption and 12.1% of emissions related to the European transport sector. The mode transferred 32% of total freight volumes.
Sea transport offers significant environmental advantages as it transports more than 80% of global trade in volume, while emitting around 2.2% of total global greenhouse gas emissions (Christodoulou, Raza and Woxenius, 2019).
