First Direct Container Service Between Saudi Arabia And India
Qatar Navigation (Milaha), a maritime and logistics conglomerate, has signed an agreement with the Kandla International Container Terminal (KICT) in India, to start the first direct common carrier feeder service between Saudi Arabia and India.
The frequency of this first-of-its-kind service will be weekly and will connect the Gujarat port of Kandla directly with Jebel Ali in Dubai, and Dammam and Jubail in Saudi Arabia.
“After our successful entry into the Indian market in March 2015 with the launch of the first direct service between Qatar and India,” said Milaha’s president and CEO Abdulrahman Essa Al-Mannai, “we have been exploring various options to further enhance our presence in the country. After careful evaluation of trade patterns and feedback from our very supportive customers and partners, we decided to launch this service especially since a large proportion of agricultural produce cargo to Dammam is exported through the ports in Gujarat. We are proud to be part of this historic moment which will certainly bolster trade ties between the Gulf region as a whole and India, as well as further broaden our feeder network within the Gulf and the Indian Subcontinent.”
The service, named KDX (Kandla Dammam Express), will provide rice exporters in North India with a cost effective solution for their supply chain as KICT will provide a direct train link between Northern India’s inland container depots and the container terminal. At the other end, petrochemicals exporters in Jubail will have the advantage of a direct service to Kandla, and the convenience of connecting through to any North Indian inland container depots from Kandla.
The weekly service will be operated with two vessels and will have the following rotation with a 14-day round-trip: Kandla – Jebel Ali – Dammam – Jubail – Jebel Ali – Kandla. The first vessel call of this service will be M.V Oshairij on 4th February 2017 from Kandla.
Milaha was established in July 1957 as the first public shareholding company registered in Qatar. Milaha’s current activities include marine transportation in gas, petroleum products, containers, and bulk; offshore support services; port management and operations; logistics services; shipyard; trading agencies; real estate investments; and asset management.
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