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Safmarine (Safmarine Container Lines N.V.) is an international shipping business offering container and break-bulk shipping services worldwide.

Formed in 1946 by South African industrialists and American ship owners, Safmarine is now widely known as a north/south trade and African specialist. The line is represented in more than 130 countries throughout the world, with more than 1200 dedicated Safmariners providing personalised shipping solutions. Safmarine has been headquartered and registered in Antwerp, Belgium, since 1996, when it completed its acquisition of Belgian Line (CMBT). In 1999, Safmarine was bought by the Danish company A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, and Maersk chose to retain the Safmarine brand rather than integrating it wholly into Maersk Sealand. In 2002, Safmarine acquired Torm Lines.

Safmarine's pre-buyout containers had the SAMU prefix, and since Maersk bought them new containers have appeared with the parent company marking, MSKU. Maersk kept the original Safmarine graphics but integrated them into a redesigned container. The old dry van pre-Maersk containers were blue with the Safmarine flag on each side and Safmarine in cursive writing on the back door. The older refrigerated containers had the cursive Safmarine writing on the sides. The newer dry van and reefer containers with the Maersk influence are darker blue (the reefers are white of course) with gigantic Safmarine cursive on the side as well as the flag. Where the 7 point star appears on each door on a Maersk container, the Safmarine flag appears for their containers. The Maersk container redesign for Safmarine makes their containers much more easily identifiable and, to many, more visually appealing. Before the "flag logo" pre-buyout containers, Safmarine did have 2 different container appearances that simply said "Safmarine" in different non-cursive fonts but did not feature the flag on the sides.

[edit] Passenger services

Safmarine operated a passenger liner service between the United Kingdom and South Africa in 1965—1977 and again in 1984—1985.^[1][2]

Safmarine passenger operations had begun in 1965, when two Union-Castle Line ships used on the Southampton—Durban service, RMS Transvaal Castle and RMS Pretoria Castle, were transferred to Safmarine in order to satisfy demands from the South African government. The ships were renamed S. A. Vaal and S. A. Oranje respectively, re-painted in Safmarine colours but continued on the same service as before. In 1969, both vessels were transferred from British to South African registry. During the 1970s the South African liner trade started to decline, mainly due to competition from the jet airplane and the rising success of the revolutionary new container ships, in carrying cargoes more efficiently and more economically than conventional, older vessels. Thus, in 1975 the S. A. Oranje - and her Union-Castle sister RMS Edinburgh Castle - were withdrawn and sold for scrapping. The popular RMS Pendennis Castle was also withdrawn in June 1976, leaving S. A. Vaal to remain with Union-Castle's RMS Windsor Castle (and the two smaller cargo/passenger mailships RMMV Good Hope Castle and RMMV Southampton Castle). In October 1977, both companies withdrew their passenger services and S. A. Vaal was sold to Carnival Cruise Lines, becoming their SS Festivale.^[1]

In 1984 Safmarine purchased the cruise ship MS Astor from the West German Hadag Cruise Lines. Following a refit she was used to revive the Southampton—Cape Town service, also making cruises out of South Africa and the United Kingdom between liner voyages.^[1] However, in service the Astor was found not to have enough speed to maintain the liner schedule,^[3] and Safmarine decided to order a new ship based on the same design from HDW Kiel, also to be named MS Astor, to replace the first Astor.^[1] In preparation for the delivery of the second Astor, the first Astor was sold to the East German Deutsche Seerederei (via a West German intermediary), becoming their MS Arkona.^[1][3] Ultimately the second Astor never entered service for Safmarine, as the company decided to abandon their liner service in 1986. The second Astor, still under construction at the time, was sold to Marlan Corporation in January 1986.^[4][5]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Safmarine
• A.P. Moller-Maersk Group