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Santanu Sanyal

Kolkata, April 2

Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) is negotiating with several shipping lines to explore the possibility of resuming the US East Coast service which now stands withdrawn. “We’re talking to our partners in other joint services in this regard and some of them are not unwilling but the indication is that the resumption should be possible towards the end of this year, may be around October/November”, according to a spokesman for SCI.

The 2700-TEU “Kiran”, is the last vessel that has just completed the voyage on the US East Coast service which SCI has been operating since May 2006 in partnership with Emirates Shipping and Zim.

“We had to withdraw the US service because our partners withdrew from it”, the spokesman said. Emirates Shipping offered four vessels and Zim and SCI two each for the service.

The problem started with Emirates Shipping having decided to withdraw their vessels. “It is not possible to maintain the services with less than seven to eight vessels and we do not have that many vessels of our own to carry on with the service”, the spokesman said.

Besides, as it was pointed out, SCI was not making any money by running the service. The volume was low and the freight rate unremunerative. The east-bound trade was particularly bad. “We were offering the service more in national interest than as a commercial proposition”, the spokesman observed.

He, however, indicated that the withdrawal of services would impact the market freight rates on the route as the existing service providers on the route might decide to charge higher rates following lower availability of slots than before.

This is for the second time SCI stopped the service to the US East Coast. Earlier, in March 2000, Indamex (India- East Coast of America) service was launched by Contship and CMA CGM. Subsequently SCI joined it. The service was withdrawn from August 2005.

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