Mediterranean Shipping Company makes its first regular service call to Bell Bay
Tasmania has a new international freight shipping service, with the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) beginning its promised fortnightly run last week.
MSC’s Antigua-flagged containership Hohebank left Bell Bay on February 27.
The service moves freight from Bell Bay to Sydney and Melbourne, with the option to then connect with international freight services or stay with the same ship to New Caledonia and then New Zealand.
The fortnightly loop is concluded with the service moving back across the Tasman to Melbourne and then Bell Bay.
The new route across Bass Strait was announced in January.
It came after the Tasmanian state government selected Swire Shipping to create a new direct Tasmania to Asia service.
Those negotiations are continuing and a start date has not yet been announced, but Tasmanian exporters are thrilled at the possibility of two regular international shipping services calling at Launceston.
State resources minister Paul Harriss says there is substantial demand for a direct route to Singapore or another Asian port specifically.
“It [MSC’s service] is not a direct Asia-Tasmania run and that’s why we are continuing to develop our direct Asia effort,” he tells local media.
Likewise, MSC says there is enough market for both operations.
“The return of MSC to Tasmania demonstrates the confidence MSC has in the potential Tasmanian market growth,” it says.
Meanwhile, MSC has revealed it will start a new service between Europe and Australia that may involve as many as 12 ships of about 4,800 twenty equivalent units (TEU) capacity.
Starting with the SCT Zurich arriving in Sydney on March 23, the port rotation will be Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle, Singapore, Chennai, Colombo, King Abdullah Port (Saudi Arabia), Gioia Tauro, Valencia, Fos, La Spezia, Naples, Gioia Tauro, Suez, Pointe des Galets, Port Louis, Sydney.