From November, Swire Shipping will operate its North Asia Express (NAX) service on a fixed-day fortnightly basis connecting North Asia with Papua New Guinea and Australia.
Swire Shipping will deploy three vessels (2,500TEU – 2,750TEU) on this service, including its first 2,750 TEU newbuild vessel, MV Lae Chief, which will be delivered in October 2020. Fitted with 45mt cranes and capable of dual lifts, the vessel is well-equipped to carry all cargo types, including breakbulk, out of gauge and reefers.
The service offers fast transit times to and from major ports in North Asia, Papua New Guinea and Australia with a 9-day transit time from Hong Kong SAR to Lae.
“We are committed to developing and upgrading our product offerings so that we can improve overall customer experience and save our customer’s time. Our direct express services from Asia to the Pacific have always been popular with customers and we are pleased to be able to offer more options to them with these newly announced improved frequencies on the upgraded NAX service,” said Mr Jeremy Sutton, General Manager of Swire Shipping.
The NAX service is part of Swire Shipping’s comprehensive network that is focused on connecting global supply chains to the communities of Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. The service was first launched in July 2015 to provide a direct link between North Asia, Townsville in Australia and Lae in Papua New Guinea.
