Container carriers launching Europe-India service

   Five  container carriers — Hapag-Lloyd, Yang Ming, Ocean Network Express, COSCO and COSCO’s affiliate OOCL— will launch a  weekly liner service connecting ports in the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and Europe in October. 
   Hapag-Lloyd said it will contribute four of the nine ships in what it is calling the South-East India-Europe Express service. The ships each will have a capacity of  6,500 TEUs.
   The port rotation will be Visakhapatnam (also known as Vizag) – Krishnapatnam – Chennai – Tuticorin – Colombo – Cochin – Damietta – Piraeus – Rotterdam – London Gateway Port – Hamburg – Antwerp – Le Havre – Damietta – Jeddah – Colombo – Visakhapatnam.
   “Our customers have been talking to us about their growing needs in the Indian and Bangladeshi markets, and we have been listening. The introduction of the IEX is a game changer, as it will be the first dedicated direct service from Southeast India to Europe, offering connectivity to the global network of Hapag-Lloyd,” said Maximilian Rothkopf, chief operating officer at Hapag-Lloyd.
   Yang Ming said it also will “shorten transit time and provide more frequencies between Damietta, Piraeus and North Europe.”
   It said the service will begin with a sailing from Vizag on Oct. 26.