In order to meet increasing and diverse market demands, Evergreen Line has announced enhancements to its current Asia – East Africa service (AEF) – adding to its direct calls in Central & Southern China.
Five vessels are currently deployed on the AEF service – three operated by Evergreen Line, the remaining two by COSCO and X-Press Feeders. To accommodate the extended service to China, Evergreen Line and COSCO will each provide one more vessel. As such a total of seven ships with an average capacity of 4,200 TEU will be utilized 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 5th, 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 – 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.