MSC reveals details of new Far East service

ALAN PEAT THE NEW SA-Far East shipping service from MSC after its split from the Safari consortium has been announced – with the first voyage being a one-off run by the MSC Katie on April 21. The line will then to deploy six vessels on the Cheetah service - MSC Natalia, Jade, America, Manu, Diben and Claudia – each with a 1 500 TEU capacity, and offering a weekly service. The port rotation westbound, traffic manager Dallas Sutton told FTW, is: Shanghai-Chiwan-Hong Kong-Singapore-Port Louis-Durban. Eastbound is: Durban-Port Louis-Point de Gallets-Singapore-Shanghai-Chiwan-Hong Kong. “The transit times on the new service will be 18-days on the Shanghai to Durban leg,” Sutton said, “with the reverse trip from Durban to Shanghai being 20-days.”