The McDan Group of Companies has procured two shipping vessels and two cargo planes to start running an African shipping line. The procured vessels
The McDan Group of Companies has procured two shipping vessels and two cargo planes to start running an African shipping line.
The procured vessels are set to revive the Ghana Black Star Line (BSL). The erstwhile Black Star Line (BSL) was a government-owned shipping line, which was established by Ghana’s first President – Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah – in October 1957, after his government commercially engaged representatives of Zim, Israeli National Shipping Line, with an initial capital of five hundred thousand pounds.
Ghana Black Star Line
The BSL, which was a source of pride for Ghanaians in the 1970s, emulated the American civil rights leader – Marcus Garvey – who established a shipping company called the Black Star Line in 1919, a kind owned and operated by black people, that would link America, the Caribbean and Africa, giving them direct access to shipping and tourism opportunities. It died out of thievery and mismanagement.
Black Star Line was amongst the renowned global cargo service provider which had been active in Africa in the Freight Forwarding Services for couple of decades dealing with major Corporate Accounts to handle their Air Freight, Ocean Freight, Projects / BB handling, Vessel Chartering, Customs clearance and Transportation offering Complete End to End handling solutions. However, the company went defunct as its operations grounded.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the McDan Group of Companies, Dr Daniel McKorley, noted that the African shipping line is intended to serve as a catalyst in the promotion of opportunities in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. He pointed out that non-existence of a shipping line in any African country is a major concern, pointing out that every ship operating on African shores presently comes from outside the continent.