MSC to fill void on ISE service

MSC to fill void on ISE service    Mediterranean Shipping Co. is to join the Shipping Corp. of India on its India Subcontinent/Europe service, according to a note in Dynaliners Thursday.
   SCI’s service, called the ISE, has been beset by defections in recent months, with former partners MISC and Zim leaving earlier this year and “K” Line and Yang Ming rumored to be leaving imminently. Into the breach steps European carrier MSC, which has been severely bucking the trend this year of mothballing ships and suspending services.
   MSC has been phasing in larger ships on Far East/Europe services and adding new Asia/Americas services. Now it looks to be wading deeper into the Indian Subcontinent/Europe trade, which has seen steep demand and rate drops the past year.
   The ISE service, a key route for SCI, has a rotation of Hamburg, Rotterdam, Felixstowe, Port Said, Jeddah, Colombo, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Salalah, Port Said, Barcelona and Hamburg. It uses seven 4,300-TEU ships.
   MSC operates another service in this trade with a rotation of Felixstowe, Antwerp, Jeddah, Salalah, Mundra, Nhava Sheva, Felixstowe and Antwerp. That service deploys seven 5,300-TEU ships.