The South African government has announced the initiation of establishing a state-owned shipping company responsible for transporting a portion of South Africa's imports and exports. The government stated that the country heavily relies on foreign shipping companies for its import and export trade, which is one of the reasons for the continuous negative growth in South Africa's import and export trade. South African government officials have pointed out that South Africa is the only country among the BRICS nations without a state-owned shipping company.

It is known that South Africa previously had a state-owned shipping company called Safmarine (South African Marine Corporation), which was acquired by Maersk in 1999. In 2020, Maersk announced the discontinuation of the Safmarine brand, fully integrating it into the group.

According to Alphaliner reports, the South African Department of Transport has invited shipping companies to participate in a steering committee to determine the operational model of the future state-owned shipping company. As per the proposal, the new shipping company will have a fleet consisting of various types of vessels, including container ships and bulk carriers, flying the South African flag. The potential name for the company is the South African Shipping Company (SASCO). Additionally, the project will also receive support from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).

In recent years, several countries including Thailand, Vietnam, and India have been planning to establish state-owned shipping companies.