Qatar Navigation (Milaha), a leading maritime and logistics conglomerate, has signed an agreement with the Kandla International Container Terminal (KICT) in India, to start the first direct common carrier feeder service between Saudi Arabia and India.

The frequency of the first-of-its-kind service will be weekly and will connect the Gujarat port of Kandla directly with Jebel Ali in Dubai, and Dammam and Jubail in Saudi Arabia.

Commenting on the launch, Milaha’s president and CEO Abdulrahman Essa Al Mannai said: "After our successful entry into the Indian market in March 2015 with the launch of our first direct service, we have been exploring various options to further boost our presence in the country."

"After careful evaluation of trade patterns and feedback from our very supportive customers and partners, we decided to launch this service especially since a large proportion of agricultural produce cargo to Dammam is exported through the ports in Gujarat," remarked Al Mannai.

The weekly service will be operated with two vessels and will have the following rotation with a 14-day round-trip: Kandla – Jebel Ali – Dammam – Jubail – Jebel Ali – Kandla. The first vessel call of this service will be M.V Oshairij on 4th February 2017 from Kandla.

Milaha is represented by M/S Poseidon Shipping Agency Private Limited in India.

"We are proud to be part of this historic moment which will certainly bolster trade ties between the Gulf region as a whole and India, as well as further broaden our feeder network within the Gulf and the Indian Subcontinent," he added.

The service, named KDX (Kandla Dammam Express), will provide rice exporters in North India with a cost effective solution for their supply chain as KICT will provide a direct train link between Northern India’s inland container depots and the container terminal.

At the other end, petrochemicals exporters in Jubail will have the advantage of a direct service to Kandla, and the convenience of connecting through to any North Indian inland container depots from Kandla.-TradeArabia News Service