Swire Shipping has announced that it is improving its Southeast Asia services to better connect the region, the Persian Gulf, Indian sub-continent, Europe, Africa and the US with Papua New Guinea.
The service will be implemented with two loops, enhancing the frequency of calls between the regions mentioned above and Port Moresby to 11 days, from 22 days currently.
The first loop, promoted as the Challenger Loop, will call at Port Klang, Singapore, Motukea, Lae, Honiara, Lihir, Kimbe and Port Klang, with Oro Bay and Alotau served as ad hoc calls.
The second loop, marketed as the New Guinea Shuttle Loop, will call at Port Klang, Singapore, Jakarta, Motukea, Lae, Lihir, Rabaul, Madang and Port Klang. Both loops are scheduled to start on 6 December.
Customers shipping from Singapore and Malaysia to Motukea Port in Port Moresby on the currently available SEA service can look forward to a transit time of only nine days. Shippers can also expect better intervals between arrivals into Lae. The initial 19-day interval time between voyages into Lae will now be improved to an interval of up to 15-days.
Swire Shipping plans to deploy four of its newbuild 2,400TEU vessels on this service. Fitted with 45-tonne cranes and capable of dual lifts, the vessels are well equipped to carry all cargo types, including breakbulk, out of gauge and reefers, offering customers versatility for all their cargo requirements.
Swire Shipping’s general manager, Jeremy Sutton, said, “The upgrade of our Southeast Asia service will boost our services to Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. These enhancements will benefit our customers and their supply chains on the Papua New Guinea-Southeast Asia trade.”
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
