Maersk redesigns ocean network in West and Central Asia

A.P. Moller-Maersk is set to redesign its ocean network in West & Central Asia that connects countries including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, UAE, and Saudi Arabia to the world.

The changes in network are primarily aimed at improving speed to market, providing higher predictability and offering more flexibility to customers’ supply chains.

Mads Skov-Hansen, head of liner operations cluster, Maersk West & Central, said: “Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chains have experienced a perfect storm.

“The unprecedented scale operational challenges restricting supply during the pandemic and the strong demand surge in parallel led to significant bottlenecks, capacity issues and unforeseen delays across supply chains.”

Redesigning the network will bring more resilience to Maersk’s customers’ supply chains, protecting them better from operational challenges that arise out of contingencies.

Adjustments to the ME3, F13 and new ME4 service will bring improved speed to the market.

For example, the ME4 service will offer a direct coverage between Doha and North Europe will improve speed by up to five days and by up to six days from Jebel Ali to West Africa for most customers.

The ME3 service, which connects produce exporters from Pakistan to Russia, will improve upon already established ‘best-in-industry’ transit times.

This will further reduce wastage of the fresh produce by maintaining its integrity through end-to-end cold chain logistics offered by Maersk in Pakistan.

The F13 service will change from fortnightly to weekly giving frequent options for importers getting cargo from Far East into North India.

Additionally, the changes will improve upon predictability and flexibility for the ME7 and the new F14 service.

The ME7 service will connect South India’s lifestyle, retail, and automotive manufacturing sector directly to Europe thus allowing cargo to flow smoothly without getting affected by unforeseen delays in case of congestion.

It will also provide a direct and regular rotation between the hubs of Colombo and Salalah, thus letting customers have a more flexible option of moving their cargo.

The new F14 service, that combines previous Jade Express and Chennai Express, will connect South East Asia with India and Pakistan on a single direct service.

Bhavan Vempati, regional head of ocean management, Maersk West & Central Asia, said: “Our customers deserve a predictable service that will allow them to plan their supply chains better.

“With our redesigned ocean network, we are not only providing our customers with predictability and resilience, but also greater speed to market allowing them to optimise their inventories and operations to meet the surge in demand with a competitive edge.”