THE Port of Hamburg's direct services with Indian ports contributed 105,000 TEU in the first half of the year, representing a year-on-year increase 17 per cent. India is now Hamburg's 10th largest trading partner for container shipments.

With Hapag-Lloyd and its partner shipowners ONE, YML and Cosco offering an additional weekly sailing from Hamburg on the Southeast India-Europe Express (IEX) service starting from November, the prospects for further growth are good, reported New York's Maritime Logistics Professional.

Ten ocean liner services connect the port of Hamburg to India. Of these, four are container shipping services, three are ro-ro services transporting vehicles, and three are general cargo services that also carry heavy cargo, plant and project shipments.

The companies sailing between Hamburg and India are ANL, APL, Chipolbrok, CMA CGM, Cosco Shipping, Hamburg Sud, Hapag-Lloyd, Hoegh Autoliners, Maersk Line, MOL RoRo, MSC, NYK RoRo, ONE, Rickmers-Line, SAL and Van Uden. Shipping Corporation of India is represented in Hamburg by a container service operated jointly with Mediterranean Shipping Company.

Transit times between Hamburg and the Indian sub-continent are two weeks to the west coast, and three weeks to the east coast. The Elbe hub is linked to the Indian ports of Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Mumbai, Chennai, Ennore, Kolkata, Cochin, Kandla, Tuticorin, Visakhapatnam, Krishnapatnam, Hazira and Haldia.

Containerships with slot capacities of 6,000-13,000 TEU and multi-purpose freighters with capacities of between 12,000 and 30,000 tons are deployed on ocean services with India.