Swire Shipping will introduce a direct service between Singapore and North West Australia from June 2021.
The North West Australia service (NWD) will be made up of two loops: the first will serve Singapore, Darwin, and Port Hedland and the second will call at Dampier.
Swire Shipping said that the direct connection will enable its customers to better plan their inventory and manage their supply chains more efficiently.
The transit time to Port Hedland from Singapore is 12 days, providing an alternative option for Swire Shipping’s customers that previously had to transport their cargo via Fremantle. This, according to Swire Shipping, also helps to reduce carbon emissions, as inland transportation is no longer required.
The 7,602-dwt multipurpose vessel Souni will be deployed on the Darwin and Port Hedland loop. For the second loop to Dampier, Swire Shipping will deploy the 7,520-dwt vessel Karratha, operated by SeaSwift. Both vessels can carry containerised, out-of-gauge and breakbulk cargo.
Randy Selvaratnam, Swire Shipping’s general manager for the Pacific, said: “In addition to deploying modern and eco-friendly vessels, we also seek innovative ways to minimise our carbon footprint as part of our decarbonisation journey. This is one of the many steps we are taking to reduce overall carbon emissions and achieve our long-term goal of decarbonisation.”
