MOL joins trans-Suez loop from India
Florida shippers active in the U.S.-India trade will have a new carrier option over Savannah at the end of July, when Mitsui O.S.K. Lines takes space on the weekly Indian subcontinent-U.S. East Coast India-America Express (IAX) service of APL, CMA CGM, and Hapag-Lloyd.
The IAX uses seven ships averaging about 4,200 TEUs and has a port rotation of New York; Norfolk, Va.; Charleston, S.C.; Savannah, Ga.; Port Said, Egypt; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Damietta, Egypt; and back to New York.
The service offers transit times to New York of 10 days from Damietta, 17 days from Mundra and 19 days from Nhava Sheva.
MOL’s involvement on the IAX will begin with the departure of Hapag-Lloyd’s New Delhi Express from Colombo on July 27.
Also in July, MOL, as part of the New World Alliance, and in partnership with CMA CGM, is starting the Suez Express service (SZX), a weekly loop that will connect ports in Southeast Asia with gateways on the U.S. East Coast.
“The SZX, together with the IAX, will provide a comprehensive network for the Asia-U.S. trade via the Suez Canal, while the IAX will open trade to and from Egypt and the East Mediterranean via Damietta and Port Said,” MOL said in a statement.