MSC Adds Hamad Port to New Falcon Service

MSC Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has upgraded its New Falcon service by providing a direct call at Hamad Port.  The new service is the first ever regular service between Hamad Port and Shanghai, according to Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar). The upgraded New Falcon service commenced with MSC Elma leaving Shanghai on January 5 and arriving in Hamad on January 26, 2017. The firm said that the addition to the company’s New Falcon service will see container volumes able to travel west from the Far East and South East Asia to Qatar. The new facility will also serve volumes out of South and East India, via Colombo. It will help to meet the growing demand of Qatar’s export market, by offering direct connections via Mundra Port to worldwide destinations, MSC said. With the new direct call, Hamad Port expects to be able to provide increased throughput with a capacity of 2 million containers per year, eventually increasing this number to 7 million.