In an interview on the bridge of the UASC container ship Al Sabahia, which was loading and unloading containers at Maher Terminals in Port Elizabeth, N.J., Dr. Anil Vitarana, the head of United Arab Shipping Co. in the Americas, says container lines are likely to turn a profit for full-year 2012 if they can sustain rates on the major East-West trade lanes at current levels. Although rates on trade between the U.S. and India and the Mediterranean, which Al Sabahia serves, are better than last year, they have not incresed as much as on the major trade lanes. Al Sabahia is sailing full with U.S. exports to India, but the Mediterranean market is flat, Dr. Vitarana says.
