CSAV is starting a direct container shipping service between the Indian subcontinent, the Far East and the US west coast by expanding the port rotation of its existing FE-ISC Indus service in September.

Six more ships will be added to the five 2,800- to 3,500-TEU vessels currently used on the Indus service, which will be turned into a multi-trade ISC-FE-USWC loop and renamed the Asia-America (Asiam) service, reports Alphaliner.

It said the Asiam will also provide additional direct links to Vietnam through a new call at Ho Chi Minh City on the eastbound leg of the journey.

The full Asiam port rotation will be Colombo, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Karachi, Colombo, Port Kelang, Ho Chi Minh City, Shenzhen-Yantian, Ningbo, Shanghai, Long Beach, Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen-Yantian, Port Kelang and back to Colombo.

The loop will deploy 11 ships in the 3,000-3,500 TEU range. The first eastbound sailing is scheduled for the 3,534-TEU Pago on September 14, departing from Shanghai.