New Dubai-based shipping line links MENA ports with Far East, Asia and Russia

New liner out of Dubai looks to leverage gaps at Russian ports: Dubai-basednewcomer CStarLine has kicked off 16 new shipping routes linking ports in the Middle East with the Far East, India and Russia, according to its website. The new liner is eyeing gaps created after Western liners exited Russia’s ports, Splash reports. Former Maersk executive Zsolt Katona (Linkedin) leads the new carrier as CEO, according to Splash.

The routes:The new carrier looks to bridge ports in East Asia, India, MENA, the Black Sea, and the Baltic Sea. Its routes connect Jebel Ali in the UAE; Jeddah in KSA; Istanbul, Ambarli, Beldeport, Izmir, and Mersin in Turkey; Alexandria in Egypt; Misrata and Benghazi in Libya; and Ashdod and Haifa in Israel to ports in the Far East, India, and Russia. No information was provided regarding vessels, frequencies, and capacities of the shipping lines.

Getting a foot in the door: The new liner joins a slew of outfits scrambling to fill gaps at Russian ports following the pullout of global container lines in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Splash explained. Some of these names include FESCO, Reel Shipping, New New Shipping/Torgmoll, OVP, and Safetrans.

Robust gains are driving a rebound in volumes at Russian ports with 200k TEU of added container capacity calling in since the end of 2022, according to Linerlytica data cited by Splash.