Lidl-owned Tailwind has decided to enhance its service network within Asia, with the Tiger Express Service (TEX) being expanded to include one call in Vietnam and two in Malaysia.
Effective from 17 June, the updated port rotation of TEX will be Chattogram—Port Kelang—Ho Chi Minh City—Port Kelang—Colombo—Chattogram.
The TEX service will continue to cast off from Chattogram in Bangladesh every two weeks and then make its first call at Port Kelang in Malaysia. From there, the service will make its next stop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, before returning to Chattogram via Port Kelang and Colombo in Sri Lanka.
Tailwind will deploy two container ships on the TEX service – the 1,900 TEU ASL in Peony and the 1,700 TEU Nordtiger.
“With this intra-Asia service, we are offering a reliable transport solution, such as for raw materials and semi-finished goods for the textile industry, but also for other sectors. This will help us to make international supply chains even stronger,” commented Nico Peters, VP Commercial Management at Tailwind Shipping Lines.
Additionally, containers bound for Europe in Tailwind’s Panda Express Service (PAX) will be transshipped in Port Kelang. The shipping company will include the Malaysian port in the sailing schedule as the PAX’s last port of call in Asia to improve the resilience of the supply chains between Asia and Europe – especially for time-critical goods.
Just like external customers, Tailwind’s parent company, Lidl, will also benefit from this expansion, as it will enable the retail company to make its own supply chains for textile goods even more streamlined.
Port Kelang is replacing the former PAX transshipment option at the Sri Lankan Port of Colombo, but all the other ports currently on the PAX service’s route will remain on the sailing schedule.
The following updated itinerary of PAX will start on 17 June: Qingdao—Ningbo—Dachan Bay—Port Kelang—Barcelona—Koper and back