Qatar added to shipping line connecting South Asia, Red Sea, West Med: Qatar’s Hamad Port has been added to a shipping line connecting hubs on the Indian Subcontinent, Red Sea, and Western Mediterranean, according to a statement fromQatar’s state-owned port operator Mawani. The weekly Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) operated route will bolster trade and afford “fast and cost-effective transit,” according to the statement.

Qatar is not the only MENA port included: The rotation includes stops in Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, and Jubail, King Abdullah, and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

MSC had announced the line’s launch last December before the Doha leg was added to the itinerary. The route links key ports in India and the Western Mediterranean in trips averaging 16-23 days without a requirement for transhipment via an intermediate port. The India-West Med line also plugs into MSC’s intermodal networks in Genoa and Valencia, streamlining trade between Europe and India and providing support for automotive, apparel, and pharma supply chains in particular, according to MSC’s statement.

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