United Arab Shipping Launches India Service

United Arab Shipping will launch a container service called the IEC2 linking the Indian Subcontinent, the Arabian Gulf and North Europe, starting in mid-September.

The service will be operated through a slot-swap arrangement with Maersk Line on its ME1 Service.

The move comes just as Maersk announced plans to charter slots on UASC’s MINA Service covering the same trade lane, to be marketed as the ME2.

The IEC2 port rotation will be Jebel Ali, Bandar Abbas, Jebel Ali, Nhava Sheva (Jawaharlal Nehru), Pipavav, Salalah, Jeddah, Algeciras, Felixstowe, Zeebrugge, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Aqaba, and Jebel Ali.

The Danish carrier has deployed seven vessels on the ME1, offering a weekly capacity of about 6,700 20-foot equivalent units on the route.

The port coverage for Maersk’s ME2 Service is Valencia, Genoa, Jeddah, Jebel Ali, Port Qasim (Karachi), Nhava Sheva, Genoa, Barcelona, and Valencia.

The MINA, which UASC operates in conjunction with Hanjin Shipping, also provides direct calls at New York, Norfolk and Savannah, but the Maersk slot agreement does not cover these U.S. East Coast hubs.

Meanwhile, in a separate announcement, UASC said it will seek a general rate increase of $150 per TEU and $300 per FEU/high cube container for shipments moving on its services from Asia to all Red Sea destinations, effective Sept. 1.