German lines slow joint Mideast loop

   The ocean carriers Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Sud have added an eighth vessel to their weekly Europe-to-Middle East and Indian Subcontinent IOS service and increased roundtrip voyage time from 49 days to 56 days. 
   Although roundtrip voyage time on the IOS has increased by seven days, transit times between Europe and the Middle East and India remain roughly the same, as vessels will now slow steam one week on the return leg between Cagliari, Italy and Hamburg, Germany.  
   The rotation of the IOS remains Hamburg, Tilbury, Antwerp, Tanger, Cagliari, Jeddah, Dubai, Karachi, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Jeddah, Cagliari, and Hamburg. The service is currently operated by eight vessels, four each from Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Sud, with an average capacity of 5,698 TEUs. 
   Besides the IOS, Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Sud do not operate any other dedicated joint services between Europe and the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent. Hapag-Lloyd, however, along with its G6 and Grand Alliance partners, offers five different weekly services that connect the two regions in passing; four Asia-Europe loops and one between Asia and east coast North America. – ComPair Data, Ben Meyer