The company will deploy five brand new vessels on this service with a parcel size of 1200 TEUs. The route of this service will be JNP-Colombo-Singapore-Hong Kong-Kaoshung-Taichung-Hong Kong-Singapore- again Colombo-Dubai-Abudhabi-Karachi and back to JNP.

The average voyage time per vessel of this service will be 33 days, states a JNPT communique adding that the service will also connect Europe and the US East Coast with a transshipment at Colombo.

According to JNPT, all the five vessels are `A' class, 165 metres long, 27.10 metres wide with a draft of 8.5 metres. The vessels have a gross tonnage of 14,800 tonne. The vessels are equipped with 200 reefer sockets to facilitate the carriage of reefer containers.

Welcoming the new service, JNPT chairman Kishore G Apte said container handling productivity at the port had shown good movement. On anaverage, 2,000 TEUs container vessels are serviced within 24 hours with virtually no pre-berthing time, he said. "Many new shipping lines have started their operations at JNP and these services have helped the port in extending its connectivity with other ports around the globe," Apte added.