SeaLead, Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) and TS Lines will jointly launch a new service to connect India and United Arab Emirates with East Africa.
The new service is expected to commence on 22 November as a weekly service with four vessels, of which SeaLead will operate two and OOCL and TS Lines one each.
The rotation for the new service will be Nhava Sheva (India) - Mundra (India) - Jebel Ali (United Arab Emirates) - Khalifa (United Arab Emirates) - Mombasa (Kenya) - Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania) - Nhava Sheva.
According to SeaLead, it is estimated that both Kenya and Tanzania will grow at a rate of 8% annually, and as a result, the East Africa region is becoming of prime interest for companies looking to expand their business.
The growth is very well promoted and driven by the efforts of the EAC (East African Community) - an intergovernmental organisation formed in 2000, that focuses strongly on infrastructure development, necessary to facilitate trade in Africa.
Henry Schmidl, SeaLead managing director, commented, "We are delighted to be launching this new service in conjunction with our partners. Trade between India, the UAE and East Africa has been growing strongly and our new service will add further options for our customers. Providing this fast and direct service will shorten transit times and allow for faster connections."
