Maersk Line is adding a direct call at India’s Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal to its Chennai Express Service (CHX), a weekly intra-Asia loop linking India and the Far East.
The new port call, starting Jan. 29, brings the number of container services at the east coast hub to three. Singapore-based Bengal Tiger Line in September last year began calling on KPCT with a regional service connecting Chennai, Singapore and Port Kelang, followed by a feeder service from Krishnapatnam to Colombo, Sri Lanka, by Mediterranean Shipping Co., effective Oct. 29, 2012.
The revised CHX port coverage is Chennai, Krishnapatnam, Visakhapatnam, Tanjung Pelepas, Shanghai, Qingdao and Xingang.
Maersk India in a notice to customers said the Krishnapatnam call helps reduce inland transportation costs and improve supply chain timeline for shippers in India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Krishnapatnam Port, about 112 miles north of Chennai, started container operations in September last year. The container terminal offers 2,130 feet of berth, a 44-foot alongside draft, 4,000 ground slots and an annual capacity of 1.2 million 20-foot-equivalent units.
Port developer Navayuga Group recently indicated plans to expand KPCT’s throughput capacity to 6 million TEUs over the next four to five years.
