Gazza, Mezeron have now one small 500 ton coaster. If you mean Dohle, how big are Macquarie and the pension funds who actually own the SP?
Pongo, I agree with you that Fastcraft are out of date and inefficient and a conventional ship would be alot better,not only in the green sense but in any poor weather.
A lot of freight is in a hurry. Just ask Tesco, Shopriite,Co Op and M&S. They are the high worth cargo, where the money is! Bricks and cement and fertiliser can be shipped at any time but it's more than a few hours difference.
You say there isn't a need for a passenger service every day, imagine the shit that would hit the fan if the SP tried to pull that one, you would be first in the queue to slag them off.