On March 7th, Safmarine Container Lines will begin a new dedicated service connecting Europe with the Indian Subcontinent.
Featuring a new direct connection between the main European ports and Chennai, the service improves transit times by an average of four days from Chennai to Zeebrugge and Felixstowe, with an average of 22-days transit time from Rotterdam to Chennai.
An additional Salalah call westbound will improve transit times to and from Pakistan, and the call in Colombo will serve as transhipment hub for Bangladesh and South Indian Ports.
Operated with sister company Maersk Line, the new Prime-2 service will deploy seven 3,550 TEU Panamax type vessels on the following port rotation: Chennai (India) > Colombo (Sri Lanka) > Salalah (Oman) > Zeebrugge (Belgium) > Felixstowe (UK) > Rotterdam (Netherlands) > Bremerhaven (Germany) > Salalah (Oman) > Colombo (Sri Lanka) > Chennai (India).
The Prime-2 service's direct calls in Colombo, Chennai, Salalah, Zeebrugge, Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Bremerhaven complement Safmarine's existing services from the Middle East to North Europe and Mediterranean as follows:
- Prime 1: Jebel Ali (UAE) > Jawaharal Nehru (India) > Pipavav (India) > Salalah (Oman) > Tangier (Morocco) > Algeciras (Spain) > Felixstowe (UK) > Zeebrugge (Belgium) > Bremerhaven (Germany) > Rotterdam (Netherlands).
- Prime 3: Pipavav (India) > Nhava Sheva (India) > Jebel Ali (UAE) > Salalah (Oman) > Port Said (Egypt) > Ambarli (Turkey) >Gioia Tauro (Italy).
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