March 27, 2007 - Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. ("K" Line), MISC and PIL will be upgrading their current Asia South Africa Service effective late April 2007. The upgrading will involve deployment of larger vessels with extended port coverage to include China , Taiwan , Hong Kong and Sri Lanka in its revised rotation.
The newly-upgraded Asia South Africa Service will have 7 containerships of 3300 - 3800TEU capacity, with "K" Line and MISC each contributing 3 vessels and PIL one vessel.
Shanghai – Ningbo – Kaohsiung - Shekou - Hong Kong – Singapore – Port Kelang – Colombo - Durban – Cape Town – Colombo - Port Kelang – Singapore - Hong Kong – Shanghai .
The newly-upgraded service will make round-trip voyage in total of 49 days and is expected to commence around end of April with full deployment of the up-sized vessels to be completed around June.
By extending the current service to the North Asia region, customers will benefit from the wider market coverage and fast transit time. Having a Colombo call on both eastbound and westbound legs gives it the unique distinction of being the only service of its kind which is intended to connect the high growth markets in the Indian Sub-Continent as well as those of the Middle East .
The larger capacity containerships with significantly increased number of reefer plugs will comfortably meet the growing demand for space in this continually expanding eastbound trade.
This service upgrading further confirms the partners' commitment to meet their customers' needs as well as providing a reliable platform for future growth being anticipated for South African exporters and importers.