Starting from the last week of November 2022, the Shaheen
Express will rotate between Mundra, Pipavav, Jebel Ali, Dammam, and Jebel Ali
and back to Mundra, creating a 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 Persian 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,” commented Bhavan Vempati, Head of
Regional Ocean Management, Maersk West & Central Asia.
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 include two vessels with a nominal
capacity of 1,700 TEU per week.