CEVA Logistics said it successfully completed a full RORO charter for almost 4,000 cars between South Korea and Libya, in close cooperation with its parent company, the CMA CGM Group.

The two companies chartered a specialist car-carrying RORO vessel as part of a cross-selling initiative — offering a much-needed transportation option for car exporters in South Korea.

CEVA Logistics said it teamed up with CMA CGM to source and charter a specialist vessel along with contracting and loading.

This project follows on from a similar successful charter in December 2019 where an equivalent number of cars were also moved from Incheon Port in South Korea to Misurata in Libya.  

“For this second automotive charter, the vessel Lake Wanaka arrived at Incheon in early January where CEVA Logistics Korea teams monitored and supervised loading operations to the port. Almost 4,000 cars, SUVs and small trucks were successfully loaded over a four-day period despite difficult weather conditions including snow," CEVA said in a statement.

In 2019, South Korea exported some 460,000 used cars overseas– primarily to the Middle East and Africa. In recent months, many exporters in Korea have expressed concern about limited transport options.

Thus, CEVA Logistics and CMA CGM said it worked in close collaboration to offer pure car exporters in the country a specialist vessel as well as a local guarantee insurance company to eliminate any credit issues.

Close liaison with port authorities in South Korea and Libya

CEVA said both teams also worked very closely with the Incheon Port Authority and those in Libya to ensure smooth port operations including vessel berthing and car loading, stowing and lashing and then timely unloading operations at destination.

“Our extensive capabilities in the automotive industry were on full show with this RORO charter and the smooth collaboration with our colleagues at CMA CGM ensured both car movements ran like clockwork. The success of the first projects demonstrates we are fully prepared for what we believe will be many other similar charters in the future,” said CEVA Logistics’ managing director Korea, Do Young Kim.