Maersk Line has announced discontinuation of its ME5 Indian subcontinent-Mediterranean link – a capacity reduction of around 16 per cent of its services between the Middle East-Indian subcontinent and Europe. The company meanwhile has said that it would add new port calls on its ME1, ME2 and ME3 services and launch a feeder shuttle service linking Chennai, Colombo and Salalah to compensate for the termination.
The current schedule of the ME5 launched this February included Chennai, Colombo, Salalah, Djibouti, Jeddah, Aqaba, Port Said, Genoa, Valencia and Algeciras, deploying seven vessels of around 4,600 teu turning in seven weeks. The Danish company’s move is viewed as a step to safeguard against the worsening global freight rates owing to low demand. But it would have a negative impact on several global clothing retailers which rely on feeder links to Colombo from the apparel production hub of Bangladesh.
Over 50 per cent of India’s container cargo is transhipped at ports outside the country, such as Colombo, Singapore, Salalah and Jebel Ali, since a few of its own ports can accommodate the biggest containerships that now ply the deep-sea routes. But a lack of direct access to ports and the infrastructure issues are holding the country’s prospects despite an opportunity amid declining Chinese yuan.
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