APL's CIX service to serve booming N China-India trade
APL, the container shipping arm of Singaporean transportation and logistics group NOL, is launching a China India Express (CIX) service from the middle of next month, to cater to the surging demand for liner shipping services driven by these nations' booming economic growth.
The CIX service will replace APL's existing Singapore Subcontinent 2 (SS2) service, which called at ports between the shipping line's hubs in Singapore and Nhava Sheva. The new service will expand port coverage up to Bohai Bay in North China and make additional stops in South China and Colombo on its way to India, a company statement said.
"The need to keep up with our customers' appetite for more direct services has prompted us to launch the CIX. In addition, we believe that the northern Chinese ports of Xingang, Dalian and Qingdao will continue to see strong growth and hence we are confident that the new CIX service will best meet our customers' needs," said Ron Widdows, APL's chief executive officer.
The port rotation for the CIX will be: Xingang, Dalian, Qingdao, Hong Kong, Shekou, Singapore, Colombo, Nhava Sheva, Singapore, Hong Kong and Xingang.
The CIX will start calling at North China in mid-May at Xingang port in Tianjin. The service will deploy five ships with a capacity of between 2,000 and 2,500 TEU. Three of the vessels will be provided by APL and the other two by OOCL.
The inauguration of the new CIX service comes amid forecasts that China will see GDP growth of 9.5 per cent to 10 per cent in 2007, while India's GDP is expected to grow at a rate of 8 per cent to 8.5 per cent this year.
The CIX service will replace APL's existing Singapore Subcontinent 2 (SS2) service, which called at ports between the shipping line's hubs in Singapore and Nhava Sheva. The new service will expand port coverage up to Bohai Bay in North China and make additional stops in South China and Colombo on its way to India, a company statement said.
"The need to keep up with our customers' appetite for more direct services has prompted us to launch the CIX. In addition, we believe that the northern Chinese ports of Xingang, Dalian and Qingdao will continue to see strong growth and hence we are confident that the new CIX service will best meet our customers' needs," said Ron Widdows, APL's chief executive officer.
The port rotation for the CIX will be: Xingang, Dalian, Qingdao, Hong Kong, Shekou, Singapore, Colombo, Nhava Sheva, Singapore, Hong Kong and Xingang.
The CIX will start calling at North China in mid-May at Xingang port in Tianjin. The service will deploy five ships with a capacity of between 2,000 and 2,500 TEU. Three of the vessels will be provided by APL and the other two by OOCL.
The inauguration of the new CIX service comes amid forecasts that China will see GDP growth of 9.5 per cent to 10 per cent in 2007, while India's GDP is expected to grow at a rate of 8 per cent to 8.5 per cent this year.