SCI to Upgrade Middle East Service

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

30 Jun 2009

The Shipping Corporation of India announced plans to upgrade its SCI-Middle-East-India-Liner-Express Service, effective in July. The weekly SMILE service, deploying three vessels, will now include a direct call at Pipavav, India, in addition to Mundra that was added earlier.
The revised port rotation will be Colombo, Cochin, Nhava Sheva (Jawaharlal Nehru), Mundra, Jebel Ali, Mundra, Pipavav, Cochin, Tuticorin, and back to Colombo.
The first vessel to call Pipavav will be the Lal Bahadur Shastri, currently expected to arrive on July 15.
“The call at Pipavav is in the interest of SCI’s customers in terms of providing an efficient and reliable service for coastal as well as export-import cargo,” the state-owned company said in a statement.
The national carrier recently launched a direct liner service between India and the Red Sea in conjunction with Dubai-based H&H Lines, with each deploying one 1,600-TEU vessel.
The Red Sea-India Express calls Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Aden, Djibouti, Hodeidah, Jeddah, Sudan, Aqaba, and back to Nhava Sheva, offering a 12-day frequency.

Source: Journal of Commerce