AD Ports Group and Transmar International Shipping Company (Transmar) have launched a new container shipping service that will link Karachi, Pakistan’s busiest port, with the major maritime economies of the Middle East and East Africa. The new route will contribute to AD Ports Group’s strategic objectives of increasing regional and global connectivity, according to the company's release.
The new route will provide weekly connections for cargo between Karachi Port and AD Ports Group’s flagship Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi, in addition to Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, Dammam and Jeddah in KSA, Aqaba in Jordan, Sokhna and Adabiya in Egypt, plus Port Sudan and Djibouti.
Karachi Port is a key economic hub that deals with approximately 60 percent of Pakistan’s cargo, handling on average 26 million tons of cargo per annum. The deep natural port offers an 11 km approach channel, which enables safe navigation for vessels up to 75,000 tonnes deadweight.
The launch of the new Pakistan route follows AD Ports Group’s acquisition of a 70 percent shareholding in Egypt-based Transmar and Transcargo International S.A.E. (TCI) in September 2022.
The new service uses containers provided by Transmar on slots, largely provided by other AD Ports Group companies SAFEEN Feeders and Global Feeder Shipping (GFS), which it acquired earlier this month.