Guinea Shipping Corporation (GSC) is set to kickstart operations in the next month, Splash can exclusively reveal, providing a new export arm for the increasingly important dry bulk destination in West Africa.
GSC was created 10 years ago, but remained dormant ever since. Starting today, it has sets out its goals, claiming it is Africa’s newest bulk shipping line.
GSC will manage operations related to the maritime shipping of goods, minerals, with a primary focus on export bulk commodities in Guinea.
The carrier will also manage chartering, acquisition and operation of ships and the day-to-day operations. Future plans also include joint venture partnerships to develop barging, transhipment and port management.
The shipping line aims to reinvest in Guinea’s maritime sector. Initial plans are to provide a training ship and school with a particular focus on helping local people build careers as international seafarers.
The fleet will comprise a combination of owned and chartered vessels to provide a flexible response to fluctuations in global demand for commoditised raw materials such as bauxite, alumina and iron ore exported from Guinea.
The main customers of GSC will initially be the mining companies operating in Guinea but the carrier’s ambition is to extend its network to other West African countries, with the same philosophy of developing training and enriching the maritime sectors of each country.
GSC is chaired by Henrik Christensen, a Danish entrepreneur living in Hong Kong. In Christensen’s diverse 40+ year career, he has established many logistics-related entities including the Africa Logistics Club, a network designed to develop more business between China and Africa.
Guinea’s huge commodities potential has been reshaping international dry bulk trading patterns in the last few years with vast quantities of bauxite and iron ore heading from the West African nation bound for China.
