RI-African shipping route

JAKARTA (JP): Taiwanese carrier Kien Hung Shipping launched on Saturday a new fortnightly direct shipping service between Indonesia and the African continent, which was marked by the docking of a 1.354 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) capacity vessel, at the Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT).

JICT said on Monday that the service was the first direct shipping link between the two areas.

"The new service offers new opportunities for both Indonesian and African shipping companies to benefit from it," JICT president WS Wirjawan was quoted in a statement.

According to JICT, four vessels belonging to Kien Hung, namely the MV Bernhard Schulte, the MV Hansa Centaur, the M.V. London Tower and the MV Westernever, would depart from JICT on alternate Fridays for Port Klang, Colombo, Durban, Cape Town, Lagos, Cotonou, Tema and Abidjan before returning via Hong Kong to JICT.

Kien Hung technical advisor Paul Haegeman said that the service would provide new direct and faster transit for cargo between the two areas.(03)