Turkish container carriers Turkon Line and Arkas Line seem to have scooped up significant India-Mediterranean volumes traditionally carried by established mega-carriers on Red Sea routes.
Nhava Sheva port saw the launch on 5 March of a vessel-sharing agreement between Turkon and Arkas, with a service branded TRI (Turkey-Red Sea-India) and IMS (India-Med Service) respectively.
The service offers relay options for Indian cargo moving to Europe and the US east coast, in addition to expansive port reach in Turkey.
According to industry sources in Nhava Sheva, the new entrants were able to fill their capacity on the inaugural voyage due to “aggressive commercial strategies”, with tactical pricing the key sales tool in a market that had already been oversupplied.
“The new service certainly began on a strong note,” a freight forwarder said.
Sources at some major mainline carriers also confirmed that positive market response to the Turkon/Arkas service was eating into freight usually controlled by established networks.
“Our cargo pick-ups for the last Mediterranean vessel were tight,” one sales executive at a European line said. “A few low-volume shippers and forwarders may have diverted cargo.”
With a rotation of Ambarli-Evyap-Aliaga-Mersin-Aqaba-Jeddah-Nhava Sheva-Mundra-Jeddah-Aqaba-Alexandria-Ambarli, the new service claims a faster option for shippers, with the major liners continuing to sail around the Cape of Good Hope.
Turkon and Arkas have deployed two vessels each on the service, with plans to expand it to a five-ship string by June in order to offer a scheduled weekly rotation.
Both carriers have announced the next Nhava Sheva sailing for 18 March, according to port updates.
The joint loop was the latest addition to a wave of Red Sea services opened by feeder or regional operators that had arrived to exploit the disruption for profit.
Turkon has other ambitious growth plans: a 50% increase in its overall capacity, with two 4,000 teu newbuilds of different fuel types due to join its fleet.
Izmir-based Arkas, boasting a fleet of 25 containerships with 33 services across 72 ports, was also bullish on India’s trade potential.
“We are excited to contribute to the growing story of India,” said CEO Can Atalay. “We are offering a service with optimised transit times and high operational reliability.”
As excess capacity floods the India-Red Sea trade, freight rates will inevitably be the casualty of sales strategies by carriers to maximise volumes to fill vessels, industry sources believe.
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