To support exporters of the petrochemical sector from the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, A.P. Moller – Maersk plans to launch a new ocean shipping service, ‘Shaheen Express’ starting from the last week of November 2022.
A press release from Maersk noted that the ‘Shaheen Express’ will rotate between Mundra, Pipavav, Jebel Ali, Dammam, and Jebel Ali and back to Mundra, creating a stable and reliable service for the India-UAE-Saudi Arabia corridor.
The new service will primarily address the rising demand for customers trading between the Indian and the Gulf markets. Additionally, Shaheen Express will offer improved transit time and better predictability between Indian and Gulf ports compared to the existing services.
Bhavan Vempati, Head, Regional Ocean Management, Maersk West & Central Asia, noted that the markets have started stabilising, and the ocean networks are normalising after over two years of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We remain committed to our customers in West & Central Asia and want to bring reliable service to them. We will continue building robust partnerships with our customers and design solutions that create value for their business and contribute to the overall economic growth of the region,” he added.
India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) entered into force in May 2022, steadily boosting the trade volumes between the two countries.
The main commodities moving between these two countries that will benefit from the increased capacity include FMCG, such as electronics, perishables, such as foodstuff, retail goods, including textiles and apparel, and chemicals.
