Both lines view the Eastern Mediterranean and particularly Turkey – despite recent political uncertainties – as offering strong cargo growth opportunities and as providing a platform for expanding their regional Networks.

Cosco Shipping Ports already has a significant presence in Turkey, as it has one of the largest shareholdings in the Kumport facility. The terminal has lost traffic in the past 18 months, as several ocean carriers have switched terminals
in the port. The inauguration of this new service, therefore, provides welcome news. 

At an official ceremony in Istanbul  for the new service, Tian Dong, vice president of Cosco Shipping (Europe), said: “This new direct service represents a ‘milestone’ for us, as it is the first for a Chinese shipping line, and it is our latest move in rolling out an intra-Europe business trade plan across the whole region.”

Dong sees the move as complementing the carrier’s existing operations and as allowing it to build scale in the region. “This new service will help our feeder service grow from several individual lines to a collaborative net, a development that will much improve our service ability and quality in the region,” he said. 

In particular, the new service will reinforce CCSC’s presence in Piraeus, which is already one of the carrier’s main hubs, and where the group is also an investor, owing 67% of Piraeus Port Authority. 

Moreover, with Istanbul having the potential to become one of the most important western gateways for the Chinese Government’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative, the new NET service provides CCSC and OOCL with additional trading opportunities along the New Silk Road.

Read this item in full
This complete item is approximately 300 words in length, and appeared in the April 2017 issue of WorldCargo News, on page 9. To access this issue download the PDF here.