New vessels speed up Indian Ocean Service

P&O NEDLLOYD has revamped its Indian Ocean Service in conjunction with partners Laurel Navigation Line to provide faster transit times and increased capacity on the route. "The key service aspects of this improved product are the deployment of five vessels with a service speed of 17.5 knots and a weekly, 35-day round voyage with faster transit times," says P&O Nedlloyd's IOS trade manager, Chris Dyason. The previous round voyage was 42 days. The new vessels provide an additional 150 slots per week, and 50 reefer plugs compared to the previous ten, says Dyason. "The phase-in of the new fleet will begin from April 15. "It will take a few weeks to introduce all the new faster vessels and therefore there will be a bedding down process," he said. The port rotation is Durban - Dar Es Salaam - Mombasa -Karachi - Nhava Sheva - Jebel Ali - Mombasa - Dar Es Salaam - Durban. "From a northbound perspective, the first sailing is the P&O Nedlloyd Bonavista, which sailed from Durban on March 31. Southbound the last IOVSA (Indian Ocean Vessel Sharing Agreement) sailing is Bombay Star which arrives in Nhava Sheva on April 9-10, with the first southbound sailing being the Cape Scott, to arrive in Nhava Sheva on April 15," Dyason said.