Safmarine

Safmarine Container Lines has announced that it will be introducing a third dedicated service connecting Europe with the Indian subcontinent in March, under the name Prime 2.

It will complement the existing direct services from North Europe (Prime 1) and the Mediterranean (Prime 3) into the Arabian Persian Gulf and the West Coast of India, featuring a direct connection between North Europe and the Port of Chennai.

'Prime 2 offers our customers increased reliability with a unique direct connection between the main European ports and Chennai,' said Kris Van Den Brande. 'Transit times are improved by an average of four days from Chennai to Zeebrugge and Felixstowe, with an average off 22 days' transit time from Rotterdam to Chennai.

'Increased flexibility is offered with an additional Salalah call westbound that will improve transit times to and from Pakistan,' he added. 'The call in Colombo will serve as transhipment hub for Bangladesh and South Indian Ports, and it will also be catering for the local Sri Lankan market.'