Hong Kong-incorporated Kawa Shipping has become the latest newcomer to long-haul container shipping.
The company has started an expedited service, the China-Europe Express (CEX), between China’s Ningbo and Germany’s Wilhelmshaven ports, using the 2,496 teu Kawa Ningbo.
CEX was launched by Kawa, understood to be owned by Turkish and UAE interests, with Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Group, through its subsidiary, Zhejiang Seaport Logistics Group
The service was conceived during the China International Import Expo in Shanghai in November, when German terminal operator Jade Weser Port signed an agreement with Zhejiang Seaport, which had opened an office in the P3 Logistics Park in Wilhelmshaven in mid-2023.
Kawa, set up in 2023, began operations with services connecting Chinese ports to Jebel Ali, using chartered feeder ships.
Kawa Ningbo departed China’s second-busiest port last Monday and is expected to arrive in Wilhelmshaven on 24 January after a 26-day voyage.
CEX claims the speediest connection between Ningbo and Wilhelmshaven as it will use the Suez Canal, while all other Asia-North Europe services have been diverted round the Cape of Good Hope, due to the Red Sea crisis.
Its goal is to connect the European hinterland, including the Central European Trade and Logistics Cooperation Zone in Hungary, through Jade Weser Port’s terminal.
Jade Weser Port’s management says it plans to establish an intermodal connection, by rail from Wilhelmshaven to Budapest.
Tao Chengbo, chairman of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Group and Zhejiang Seaport, said: “Jade Weser Port provides an optimal logistics hub both for the planned European hinterland transports and for additional transhipment services toward the east coast of America.”
Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven Jade Weser Port marketing MD Marc-Oliver Hauswald described the collaboration as a milestone on the Maritime Silk Road between Asia and Europe. He added: “Through this direct connection, Jade Weser Port gains a unique selling point over the ports in the European northern range.”