Indian reefer cargo stakeholders are “cherry-picking” ocean services going via the Red Sea, instead of services taking the long detour around the Cape of Good Hope, reports The Loadstar.
Business window
Eyeing a lucrative business window, a number of regional or feeder lines have in recent weeks positioned themselves on India-Red Sea/Mediterranean trades, despite the security risks tied to sailing through the Red Sea region.
According to sources at Nhava Sheva, NVOs are increasingly partnering with these niche short-haul liners to open Red Sea sailings, both on a scheduled or ad-hoc basis. SeaLead, Emirates Shipping, KMTC, TS Line, Global Feeder, Unifeeder and CULines, as well as X-Press Feeders, are said to be active in trying to exploit the disrupted market, as mainliners continue to reroute vessels.
Trade sources
According to local trade sources, that first Egyptian fresh fruit container that arrived in India last week had made the Port Said-Nhava Sheva direct voyage in 17 days, significantly shorter than the average time taken sailing via southern Africa.
The cargo was carried by Singapore-based liner ONE subsidiary X-Press Feeder’s X-Press Altair, a mid-size vessel declared by Sea Consortium, a common feeder service provider with headquarters in Singapore.
Upcoming Red Sea sailings out of Nhava Sheva include X-Press Mekong, deployed on the Red Sea-Gulf-India (RGI) service, X-Press Dhaulagiri, an ad-hoc loader, and KR Tasman, deployed by CULines on the new IMR loop, according to port sources.
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Source: Theloadstar
