MacAndrews to upgrade India/East Africa service vessel

MacAndrews to upgrade India/East Africa service vessel    MacAndrews, a niche carrier part of the CMA CGM group, said Thursday it has upgraded tonnage on its Swahili Express Service — which provides a regular container service between the Indian sub-continent, the Middle East/Gulf and East Africa — with a more modern, faster vessel.
   The new ship, the 'MacAndrews SWALA,' has 1,100 TEUs of capacity and is one of two vessels in the service, which has a nine-day sailing frequency and calls at Khor Fakkan, Karachi, Nhava Sheva, Jebel Ali, Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, with a 28-day round voyage time. The ship also has 100 reefer plugs.
   “When we launched the service, we promised to show our commitment to the trade between East Africa, the Indian sub-continent and Middle East, by investing in the service product,' said Jim Robb, general manager, Indian trades, in a statement. 'With this new vessel, which is significantly faster than the vessels with which we launched the service, we will be in a better position to fully satisfy customer requirements.'
   From Nhava Sheva, typical transit times for MacAndrews’ Swahili Express Service are three days to Jebel Ali, 10 days to Dar es Salaam and 13 days to Mombasa. Northbound, from Mombasa the service offers an eight-day return transit to Karachi.
   The MacAndrews SWALA is flagged in Panama and was built in 1994. The ship has a deadweight of 15,170 tons and a speed of 18.5 knots.