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File photo courtesy OOCL

HONG KONG – APL, Maersk Line and OOCL on Tuesday announced a new cooperation on three existing Far East to Indian Subcontinent services beginning in February 2014.

A total of 18 vessels with a combined capacity of about 17,500 TEU will be deployed to the three Far East-Indian Subcontinent services in a Slot Sharing Agreement that also includes partners CMA CGM, Emirates Shipping Line, Hamburg Süd and Regional Container Lines.

The  enhanced services will enable the carriers to offer three weekly sailings – covering China, Korea, India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Singapore – compared to one weekly sailing currently offered independently by each liner.

“Our multi-carrier cooperation will provide more frequent sailings between Asia’s major trading hubs, and at the same time eliminate unnecessary service duplications,” the partner carriers said in a joint statement. “With improved operational efficiency and a more comprehensive service structure, the enhanced Far East-India Express services suite will offer shippers flexible and competitive options best catered to their needs.”

The new port rotations for the three services are as follows:

• CIX (to be operated by APL, Emirates and OOCL); Nansha  – Chiwan – Hong Kong – Singapore – Colombo – Jawaharlal Nehru – Pipavav –Colombo – Port Klang – Singapore – Nansha


• CIX3 (to be operated by Hamburg Süd, OOCL and Regional Container Lines); Shanghai – Ningbo – Xiamen – Hong Kong –  Singapore – Colombo – Jawaharlal Nehru – Pipavav – Port Klang – Singapore – Hong Kong – Shanghai


• FI3 (to be operated by CMA CGM and Maersk); Xingang – Dalian – Qingdao – Kwangyang – Busan – Ningbo – Hong Kong – Singapore – Tanjung Pelepas – Colombo – Pipavav – Jawaharlal Nehru – Port Qasim – Singapore – Xingang