Traninsular, a shipping company owned by Portuguese group ETE, has added to its its “Africa Express” service with the sale, from 1 October, of a more competitive solution to transport cargo between Portugal and Cabo Verde (Cape Verde), the group said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The “Africa Express” service is the only one that runs every 10 days from Portugal (Leixões and Lisbon) to Mindelo, Praia, Sal and Boavista, with Transinsular the only operator to offer regular direct connections between Portugal, Sal and Boavista and having its own agencies on those four islands.

Miguel Gomes, chief executive of the shipping company, said in the statement that the new configuration of the service, with more new ships and equipment, responds better to customers’ needs for transporting both dry and refrigerated containerised cargo.

The ETE group was founded in 1936 and at the time specialised in goods transport along rivers. In 1950 it was a pioneer in introducing the concept of loading and unloading offshore using floating cranes, barges and tugboats.

Last June, the Cape Verdean government cancelled the international tender for the sub-concession of shipyard company Cabnave – Estaleiros Navais de Cabo Verde, a company based on São Vicente, which had been awarded to the ETE group.

The proposal presented by the Portuguese group had been selected by the previous government for the next phase of the Cabnave privatisation process, which had not started yet, according to an official announcement at the time. (macauhub)