A.P. Moller – Maersk to launch ‘Shaheen Express’ connecting the India–UAE–Saudi Arabia corridor
A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) will launch a new ocean shipping service, ‘Shaheen Express’ starting from the last week of November 2022, according to the company's release. The ‘Shaheen Express’ will rotate between Mundra, Pipavav, Jebel Ali, Dammam, and Jebel Ali and back to Mundra, creating a stable and reliable service for the India-UAE-Saudi Arabia corridor. The new service will primarily aim at addressing rising demand for customers trading between the Indian and the Gulf markets.
The markets have started stabilising, and the ocean networks are normalising after over two years of disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. During this time, not only did we strive hard to ensure we addressed all our customers’ challenges, but we also got a chance to look ahead and understand what their requirements would be in the future.
India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) entered into force in May 2022, which is steadily boosting the volumes of trade between the two countries. The main commodities moving between these two countries that will benefit from the increased capacity include FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) such as electronics, perishables such as foodstuff, retail goods including textile and apparel, and chemicals. The ‘Shaheen Express’ will benefit the exporters of the petrochemical sector from the eastern province of Saudi Arabia.
The ’Shaheen Express’ will offer improved transit time and better predictability between Indian ports and Gulf ports as compared to the existing services.
The ‘Shaheen Express’ will include two vessels with a nominal capacity of 1,700 TEUs per week.
A.P. Moller - Maersk is an integrated logistics company working to connect and simplify its customers’ supply chains. As a global leader in shipping services, the company operates in more than 130 countries and employs over 100,000 people worldwide. Maersk is aiming to reach net zero emissions by 2040 across the entire business with new technologies, new vessels, and green fuels.
