Shippers in the Philippines can connect more seamlessly to intra-regional trade flows with the roll-out this month of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company’s first feeder service in the country.
MSC will launch Seahorse, its weekly feeder service, on August 9 with MSC Gianna making a port call at the Manila North Harbor.
The service will connect to MSC’s other intra-Asia services and to its global ocean liner network, as well as to its inland and barge services within the Asian region.
Seahorse provides port coverage of eight countries within Asia, with direct connections to Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan to help facilitate flow of more intra-Asia cargo to and from the Philippines.
Filipino shippers will also be able to connect to major transshipment ports in Vietnam and Malaysia, providing further accessibility to MSC’s network of main-haul services to markets in the US and Europe.
The service offers improved connection between Yantian and Manila to help facilitate speedier shipments of dry and reefer imports from the United States and Canada.
Transit time between Yantian in China and Manila using this service will only be three days compared to six days previously.
The service also makes possible the shipment of cargoes from the Philippines, such as automotive components, building materials and electronic goods, to Japan via transshipment in Vietnam, MSC noted.
The Seahorse service rotation is as follows: Tanjung Pelepas–Singapore–Jakarta–Yantian–Kaohsiung–Manila–Vung Tau–Laem Chabang–Tanjung Pelepas.
“With this first MSC feeder service to the Philippines, MSC affirms its commitment to offer reliable services to/from worldwide destinations to its valued clients in the Philippines,” said MSC, the world’s second largest shipping company in terms of container vessel capacity.
Furthermore, customers will benefit from greater capacity and improved schedule reliability with the deployment of MSC feeder vessels on this service, it added.
