NSCSA, OLDENDORFF TO COMBINE NORTH AMERICA/MIDEAST/INDIA SERVICES

NSCSA, OLDENDORFF TO COMBINE NORTH AMERICA/MIDEAST/INDIA SERVICES    National Shipping Co. of Saudi Arabia and Germany’s multipurpose shipping line Oldendorff Carriers are planning to establish a vessel-sharing agreement in the trade connecting the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts to ports in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, on the Arabian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.
   Both shipping lines have run separate services in the trade, each with a frequency of about 20 days.
   Oldendorff Carriers’ Indotrans service is a former Hoegh Lines service, which it took over from the Norwegian shipping group Leif Hoegh earlier this year.
   In the filing of their agreement with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission, National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia and Oldendorff Carriers requested expedited review by the regulator.
   National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia recently withdrew two of its former six vessels on its North America/Mideast/Indian Subcontinent service, reducing frequency from fortnightly to every 20 days.