Addis Ababa, November 18, 2011 (Addis Ababa) – The Ethiopian Shipping Lines SC. announced plan to give a Multimodal Transport Service to private importers.
Company’s Managing Directorate Representative, Yared Shiferaw, Logistics Manager Biruk Dagne and also Shipping Logistics Management Director Kalayu Tessema said in a joint statement they made here on Friday that the service would help private importers save time and energy.
The Company is currently acting as a multimodal transport operator and has started rendering multimodal transport service up to Modjo and Semera Dry Ports.
The officials said it has been providing the service to government development enterprises, NGOs and international organizations since the past two years.
They said the Company has signed different agreements with the Djibouti Clearing Forwarding Association, the Dry Port Service Enterprise and Trucking Companies, among others, prior to commencement of the service .
Cost of the service will not be more than that of the cost, which was paid earlier for a unimodal transport service, they said, adding, the multimodal transport service will also help to reduce rent paid for stores in Djibouti Port.
In order to give the service it has sub-contracted forwarding agents at Djibouti and trucking companies for in land transport up to Modjo and Semera Dry Ports.
In addition to the bilateral agreement between the two governments there is an agreement signed between the two Customs Authorities, namely the transit protocol agreement.
Multimodal transport is the transportation of goods under a single contract but performed with at least to different means of transport i.e. the carrier is liable for the entire carriage even though it is performed with several different means of transport e.g. rail, sea and road, according to a press release issued by the company.
