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from PNG Business News - Issue 3, 2022

MORE MINING CAMPS FOR MODULAR SPECIALIST

PNG Shipping Co. Invests: New Vessel, New Barge, New Containers

Papua New Guinea’s leading coastal shipping provider, Consort Express Lines (‘Consort’), recently welcomed the arrival of its latest cargo vessel ‘Kimbe Chief’. Consort’s purchase of the nearly 90-metre-long vessel, together with another barge, as well as 1,000 new shipping containers, represents a considerable investment and an ongoing commitment to provide Papua New Guinea with the best possible shipping service.

Kimbe Chief is the newest of 12 vessels in Consort’s fleet. More importantly, she has her own crane, enabling efficient and cost-effective cargo loading and unloading, and generous capacity. As her name suggests, she will be dedicated to servicing the weekly LaeKimbe-Lae Niugini Islands route.

Thomas Bellamy, Chief Operating Officer of the logistics division of Steamships Limited, to which Consort belongs, reports that “wanting to better service our import and export customers and communities who rely on the LaeKimbe-Lae route was the primary reason for Kimbe Chief’s purchase. In short, having one of our vessels solely dedicated to the route enables Consort to provide a more reliable and efficient service.”

Bellamy acknowledges that the Kimbe Chief ‘s purchase has the added benefit of freeing up other vessels that previously serviced the route, as well as minimising the impact of any unanticipated maintenance issues within Consort’s broader fleet. “We’re now more favourably positioned to not only provide an enhanced service between Lae and Kimbe, but better services across all routes. Furthermore, the expanded fleet has increased our charter project capabilities,

Consort’s newest addition to its fleet, general cargo vessel ‘Kimbe Chief’, is dedicated to providing a reliable, efficient, and safe service between PNG’s busiest port of Lae and West New Britain’s capital, Kimbe.