TAIWAN's container line Evergreen has announced enhancements to its current Asia-East Africa service (AEF) - adding to its direct calls in Central and Southern China, in a move to meet increasing and diverse market demands.
Five vessels are currently deployed on the AEF service - three operated by Evergreen Line, the remaining two by Cosco and X-Press Feeders.
In a statement, the Taiwanese box line said that to accommodate the extended service to China, Evergreen Line and Cosco will each provide one more vessel. This brings to a total of seven ships with an average capacity of 4,200 TEU to be deployed with a service rotation of seven weeks.
In addition to the current AEF calls in Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya, the extended weekly service will provide a direct connection between three Chinese ports and Kenya.
The jointly operated service will commence with a sailing from Shanghai on July 5, 2018, and have the following port rotation: Shanghai, Ningbo, Shekou, Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas, Port Klang (West Port), Colombo, Mombasa, Colombo, Port Klang (West Port), Tanjung Pelepas, Singapore and retuning to Shanghai.
"The economic development of the East African region in recent years has been one of consistent growth. As a major trading partner, Chinese investment plays an important role in this growth and, in particular has lead infrastructure construction, a significant driver of increased import cargoes to the area.
"The AEF service extension therefore is an appropriate reaction to customer demands within the China-East Africa trade. With the advent of peak season in July, this upgraded AEF service will certainly be a great assistance for shippers on this trade lane," Evergreen Line said.