Carriers slow joint Asia-ISC loop

   The ocean carrier Orient Overseas Container Line has added an additional vessel to its joint weekly CIX3/RKI service between Asia and the Indian Subcontinent, increasing roundtrip voyage time from 35 days to 42 days.
   Its vessel-providing partners on the loop are Regional Container Lines and Hamburg-Süd.
   Transit times in both directions on the service have been increased by a few days, now taking 10 days from Singapore to Mumbai (Nhava Sheva), India, and 12 days on the return voyage from Mumbai to Singapore. 
   The rotation of the joint CIX3/RKI loop remains Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Port Kelang, Nhava Sheva, Pipavav, Colombo, Port Kelang, Singapore, and Shanghai. The service is currently operated with six vessels (three from OOCL, two from RCL, and one from Hamburg-Süd) with an average capacity of 3,242 TEUs. Hamburg-Süd subsidiary Alianca continues to purchase slots along with Gold Star Line, X-Press Feeders (formerly SeaCon) and Yang Ming. 
   OOCL, RCL, and Hamburg-Süd currently operate or take slots on a total of nine other services with direct connections between Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. Only three of them, however, call at Nhava Sheva, Pipavav or Colombo, with the others calling at either Chittagong, Calcutta, Chennai or Vishakhapatnam. – ComPair Data, Ben Meyer