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In a move to ensure supply demand balance Maersk Line will pull out its fastest and direct container service — ICON (India Colombo North Europe) — from Chennai to North Europe from February, reported The Hindu.
This is part of the line's effort to rationalise and optimise the shipping service between the Far East and the Indian sub-continent to North Europe.
The world's largest shipping line will merge the ICON service, which was launched in March with seven 4,200-TEUs size vessels, and the port rotation including Felixstowe, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Salalah, Colombo, Chennai, Colombo, Salalah and back to Felixstowe — from Chennai it takes 21 days to reach Zeebruge. However, with the transhipment in Colombo, the number of days increases by three to four days, said an official at a large Custom house agent.
Besides the optimisation of trade between the Indian subcontinent and North Europe, this rationalisation will also help in efforts to establish a more balanced supply/demand scenario within the trade from the Far East to North Europe, the shipping line said in a statement.
Exports from North Europe to the Indian sub-continent, including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, will be covered on the AE1 service, which will feature a direct call in Colombo. These changes will not have any impact on the Daily Maersk network. The transportation times will remain unchanged, Maersk said.
The network changes will become effective after the Chinese New Year (early February 2012).
Cargonews Asia
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