The “UNILIGHT” has already been deployed for the major energy project on the East African coast for several months – now the UNIATLANTICO multipurpose vessel has successfully completed its tenth voyage to Afungi, Mozambique. Once again, the ship was carrying construction components for one of the largest LNG projects in all of Africa.

"Over the past few months, we have established an extremely reliable liner service between the Middle East and northern Mozambique with the 'UNILIGHT,'" says Joris Kriett, UNIATLANTICO’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Africa expert. However, the ‘UNILIGHT’ is just one of a number of vessels UNIATLANTICO is using to support the construction of the massive LNG facility that is being built on and off the East African coast.

As a key player in the maritime supply chain for this major project, estimated at around 20 billion U.S. dollars by the French energy group TotalEnergies, we connect not only the Middle East but also suppliers and ports in Southern Africa, the Far East, and the Mediterranean region with the construction site in the Cabo Delgado province. Currently, UNIATLANTICO has an average of five of our own and chartered vessels in service exclusively for the major construction site. We expect this number to increase significantly as the project progresses.

So far, the vessels deployed by UNIATLANTICO have primarily transported breakbulk cargo and containers to Afungi. However, we are also well-prepared to deliver bulk and, in particular, project cargo to Mozambique for a wide range of customers in the coming years.

Suppliers of construction materials and plant components benefit from UNIATLANTICO’s long-standing expertise in Africa as well as the experience already gained in Afungi. “We have long been at home on the African continent. We know the conditions and have a strong network of excellent partners,” says Joris. “Now, we have a head start on the LNG project, which will undoubtedly benefit our customers.”

The delivery conditions in Afungi are challenging. For instance, the “UNILIGHT” moors at a provisional pier, at the so-called Afungi Temporary Beach Landing close to the construction site. After all, terminals, onshore LNG processing plants, and the offshore gas production facilities still largely need to be built. UNIATLANTICO’s trusted partner for agency services in Afungi is LBH Mozambique. UFL Logistics, a contracted logistics partner and major contributor to the LNG project, is the trusted partner for the voyages of the “UNILIGHT.”

Until the port terminals at the LNG facility are completed, not every ship can be used for transport to Afungi. For example, there are restrictions on draft and ship length. “This makes UNIATLANTICO an ideal partner for forwarders supplying the project during the multi-year construction phase,” says Joris. “Our own ships are ideally suited for the task. At the same time, we have direct access to suitable tonnage from reliable partners.”

For questions, please refer to chartering@uniatlantico.com

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