Cosco’s first containerized cargo vessel from Gwadar leaves for Jebel Ali today

MLN - Cosco Shipping Lines begins Pakistan’s first weekly containerized service from Gwadar as first vessel MS Tiger which left Karachi on 5^th of March is expected to dock at Gwadar Port today before it leaves for Jebel Ali, UAE, according to Cosco officials.

The newly inaugurated Karachi – Gwadar shipping (KGS) service will have weekly freight movement along the following route: Port Qasim, Karachi, Gwadar, Jebel Ali, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Jebel Ali, Sharjah, Jebel Ali and Port Qasim. The Karachi Gwadar Shipping service will follow the direct course every week from now onwards.

According to the company release, KGS Service is the first containerized service from Pakistan. As per the official company send out, the service is also accepting dry/container reefer cargo for China and Fareast countries.

The newly launched service holds a significant strategic importance for Pakistan as it seeks to increase its share in the global shipping trade and also to promote CPEC – Gwadar brand in the international markets. Being touted as the new shipping hub in the South Asia, Gwadar holds immense potential to become a center of shipping and activity in the region.

China has already invested more than $55 billion in country’s various infrastructure and energy projects under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor with Gwadar at the helm of the entire project. With the commencement of weekly direct shipping, it is only a matter of months not years that Chinese container traffic begins to make its way from Gwadar to Xinjiang province.