Hapag-Lloyd announces new routes to UAE, India

Hapag-Lloyd, which currently is the world’s sixth largest shipping company, announced the new routes last week, just four months after beginning its services in East Africa with a weekly line from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to the ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam.

As Dheeraj Bhatia, Hapag-Lloyd managing director Africa, Middle East and Indian subcontinent noted that the direct connections will include Nhava Sheva (India), Mundra (India), Khor Fakkan (UAE), Jebel Ali (UAE), Mombasa and Dar es Salaam.

The East Africa Service 2 (EAS2) will replace the current EAS service and will directly link the Arabian Gulf and the West Coast of India with East Africa.

However, Hapag-Lloyd is not the only shipping company that docks at the Port of Mombasa. Namely, Maersk , CMA-CGM , Mediterranean Shipping company, China Ocean Shipping company (COSCO) and Evergreen Shipping line also dock in the Port.

After improving the port with new equipment and other changes, the Kenya Ports Authority now plans to increase its cargo handling capacity from30 million tonnes to 45 million tones by 2022.