Swire Shipping will operate a new direct service connecting Singapore and North West Australia from June, carrying containerized, out-of-gauge, and breakbulk cargo, says an article published in Container Mag.
Two loop service
The service is made up of two loops: the first loop will serve Singapore, Darwin, Port Hedland and operate with a transit time of 12 days from Singapore to Port Hedland; the second loop will operate from Singapore to Dampier, with a transit time of nine days.
It is hoped that the direct connections will enable Swire Shipping’s customers in the region to better plan their inventory and manage their supply chains more efficiently.
Customers who previously relied on inland transport through the Fremantle gateway now have an additional option to transport cargo to/from northwest Australia.
Randy Selvaratnam, Swire Shipping’s general manager for the Pacific, said: “Over the past few years, we have made significant investments to improve our product offerings and provide more direct connections so that we can save our customers time.”
Carbon footprint reduction
The loop between Singapore and Port Hedland aims to reduce the overall carbon footprint from cargo delivery on current modes of transport.
Previously, to transport cargo between the two ports, customers needed to ship their cargo from Singapore to Fremantle before using inland transportation to Port Hedland.
The new direct connection will enable a reduction in carbon emissions by up to 35,000 tonnes per year, the equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions produced from 7,600 passenger vehicles in a year.
Selvaratnam added: “In addition to deploying modern and decarbonization, we also seek innovative ways to minimise our carbon footprint as part of our decarbonization journey.“This is one of the many steps we are taking to reduce overall carbon emissions and achieve our long-term goal of decarbonization.”
The carrier will deploy a 7,602 DWT multi-purpose vessel, the MV Souni, on Loop 1 of the service (Singapore – Darwin – Port Hedland – Singapore).
On Loop 2 (Singapore – Dampier – Singapore), Swire Shipping will have slot access to the MV Karratha Bay, a 7,520 DWT vessel operated by SeaSwift.
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Source: Container Management