Charleston, SC - A new weekly shipping service launching later this month will further boost Charleston's role as the Southeast's dominant port of entry for cargo from the Indian Subcontinent.
Israeli-owned Zim, along with Shipping Corporation of India, Emirates Shipping Line and MacAndrews will deploy eight vessels of 2,500-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) capacity in the service, known as Indus Express. The first vessel, ZIM MUMBAI, departs Colombo, Sri Lanka on May 24. The full port rotation is Colombo, Tuticorin, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Barcelona, New York, Norfolk, Charleston and Barcelona.
Charleston already handles more than half of all trade with India among South Atlantic ports. Charleston's trade with the Indian Subcontinent has grown fivefold since 1999 and increased 20% in 2005.