Ocean Network Express (ONE) said is launching a new weekly
service Red Sea Gulf India 2 (RG2). The new service calls Mundra, Jebel Ali,
Jeddah, Sohkna, and Aqaba.
The new service will provide additional coverage as well as
increasing connectivity and frequency to the Red Sea, on top of ONE’s existing
Red Sea Gulf India Service (RGI).
The largest container lines, including ONE, have rerouted
nearly all their long-haul services between Asia – Europe/ Med and the US East
Coast via the Cape of Good Hope due to the security situation in the Red Sea
and to avoid the threat of Houthi attack.
ONE has also suspended its Asia Red Sea 1 service which
normally connects Northeast Asia and Red Sea via Southeast Asia.
However, for trades within the Middle East region to Red Sea
ports there are few other viable options than to continue sailing through the
Red Sea.
Regional player SeaLead is one of those that has continued
to sail through the Red Sea and has add3d a new Far East India Djibouti (FID)
service that starts on September 05, 2024.
New service calls Djibouti which is on the African shore of
the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a narrow waterway at the southern entrance to the Red
Sea where the Houthi in Yemen have launched attacks on commercial ships
transiting the waters since last November.
Suleyman
Avci, Global Chief Executive Officer at SeaLead, said, "This service is a
strategic step forward, enhancing our capabilities in China, India, and East
Africa. By leveraging Djibouti's crucial maritime hub, which connects the Red
Sea, we are providing greater coverage and ensuring faster, more reliable
connections for our customers, solidifying SeaLead's role in shaping global
trade."
The FID service originates in Shanghai, calling Ningbo,
Nansha, Port Klang, Colombo, Nhava Sheva, and Mundra before reaching Djibouti.
According to SeaLead’s website it operates an India –
Turkiye service, Turkiye – Red Sea that connects to the Port of Jeddah, and a
China – East Asia – Turkiye route, all of which transit the Red Sea.
