JOC Staff | Jun 22, 2011 2:53PM EDT
Emirates Shipping Line is joining the Far East-Middle East Express Service operated by Hanjin Shipping, effective early next month.
The Middle East-based carrier will charter slots on the weekly service, which is being revamped under a recently announced vessel sharing agreement between Hanjin and NYK Line.
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The new VSA, which followed the exit of Sinokor and STX Pan Ocean from the FMX, calls for deployment of six vessels of 6,200 to 6,500 20-foot equivalent units capacity, with Hanjin providing five ships and NYK, one.
The FMX rotation starting July 7 will be Busan, Kwangyang, Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantian, Singapore, Colombo, Jebel Ali, Dammam, Bandar Abbas, Karachi, Port Kelang, Singapore and back to Busan.
The service offers a transit time of 20 days from Busan to Dammam. It will also help Emirates connect the trade moving between South Korea and the Middle East through relay options at Colombo, a major transshipment hub in the region.
Emirates launched a similar slot-charter arrangement June 19 with Cosco Container Lines on the Middle East Express Service, which also calls Jebel Ali and Dammam. With participation in both FMX and MEX services, it is now in a position to offer twice-weekly calls at these Persian Gulf ports.
