APM Terminals Pipavav, an emerging alternative gateway on India’s West Coast, has won a new direct call from Maersk’s Jade Express Service.
The move is aimed at developing transshipment activity via Pipavav as Maersk already has other regular long-haul calls there.
“The weekly service, introduced by Maersk, will connect Port Pipavav to Port Qasim,” APMT Pipavav said in a statement. “Jade Express connects Pipavav perfectly in time for the MECL service [west bound for the North America] and provides same day connectivity on the FI3 service [for the far east].”
The expanded Jade Express port rotation is Karachi (Port Qasim) – Mundra, Pipavav – Colombo. A call from the vessel Irenes Ray on 17 April marked the Pipavav call launch.
APMT Pipavav is a key cargo gateway for India’s vast northern hinterland markets.
“We strive hard to provide the best connectivity and services to our customers to ensure their supply chain moves smoothly,” said Jakob Friis Sørensen, managing director of APM Terminals Pipavav. “Through Jade Express service, we are delighted to provide an additional mode to our customers to connect their containers to the global markets swiftly and safely.”
“Our constant endeavour to create customer-centric solutions has led us to connect Jade Express to APM Terminals Pipavav on its rotation between Far East Asia and Indian subcontinent & Pakistan,” Vikash Agarwal, Maersk’s managing director for South Asia, said in a statement.
Vikash Agarwal added, “APM Terminals Pipavav has always proven to provide top-notch service levels. With the Jade Express, we expect to extend those service levels further to our customers in the northern and western parts of India.”
In January this year, Pipavav secured a new weekly service, namely NMG (Nhava Sheva-Mundra-Gulf), connecting India to the Middle East region.
APMT Pipavav has been actively expanding its rail connectivity to target new interior markets. For example, Pipavav Rail Corporation Ltd (PRCL), a joint venture between Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd. (GPPL) and Indian Railways, in September last year began operating a regular double-stack, hub-and-spoke train service to Jodhpur ICD (inland container depot).
Pipavav is India’s first port venture developed under the public-private-partnership model, equipped with multipurpose cargo-handling facilities. The harbour, located about 150 nautical miles from JNPT/Nhava Sheva, is capable of handling 1.35 million TEU, as well as four million metric tons of dry bulk, two million metric tons of liquid bulk cargoes, and about 250,000 finished cars, annually.
Jenny Daniel
Indian correspondent
Contact email: j.daniel@container-news.com
