Ethiopia: Shipping Enterprise Receives Two Newly Built Vessels

The Ethiopian Shipping & Logistics Services Enterprise (ESLSE), the sole maritime operator in Ethiopia, received two of the nine vessels which are being constructed in China at a cost of 300 million dollars, last week. The two vessels named "Assosa" and "Bahir Dar" are expected to start giving service within a month. Construction of the remaining vessels is scheduled to be completed within the current fiscal year.
The ESLSE ordered the two tanker ships, whose delivery was unofficially verified by various officials of the Enterprise, from CSC Jinling Shipyard; seven multi-purpose ships were ordered from Huanghai Shipbuilding Co. The seven 28,000tn heavy lift multi-purpose vessels cost 32.5 million dollars apiece and the two tankers cost 37 million dollars each.
It is the second time that ESLSE, formerly known as Ethiopian Shipping Lines (ESL), has placed orders at Chinese shipyards. In 2004, ESL ordered two 27,000tn multi-purpose ships in China at the Kouan Shipyard. The first of them, Shebelle, was delivered in November 2006 and the second, Gibe, in June 2007.
The ESL was established by the Imperial Ethiopian Government and the Washington DC based Taurus Investment Inc, which had 51pc share in 1964. It received its first three vessels, two cargo liners, the "Lion of Judah" and the "Queen of Sheba", and a 34,000tn oil tanker Lalibela, at a ceremony held at Rotterdam in 1966.
Source: Addis Fortune