APL to Enhance Its Asia-Europe Trade with FEX

APL Singapore-based container shipping company APL is planning to launch Felixstowe Express Service (FEX), a new weekly service that would connect ports in China and Europe with the UKs Felixstowe container port. With this move, APL is expanding its Asia-Europe service network as it begins calling at Felixstowe, which is located in close proximity to the main European shipping lanes and has broad inland transportation options to the rest of UK. The new service will call the ports of Qingdao, Yangshan, Ningbo, Xiamen, Yantian, Port Klang, Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Hamburg. According to APL, the first sailing would be undertaken by the 18,800 TEU MV Al Zubara, which is expected to depart from Qingdao on August 20, 2016. The new FEX service, which will complement APL’s existing port calls to Southampton, would offer shorter transit times from China into the European markets.