6 Shipping Companies Commonly Used by Middle East Importers and Their Advantages
Created At: 2022-04-01

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the cost of container shipping has soared. For importers who do FOB price terms, it is very important to choose a shipping company according to their needs.

The basic ports of the Middle East line are: Dubai, Kuwait Port, Bandar Abbas, Jeddah Port, Aqaba Port. The following we talk about the basic situation of the six shipping companies commonly used in the Middle East line, and their advantages.

1. MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING COMPANY S.A. is referred to as MSC.

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) was founded in 1970 and its headquarters are located in Geneva, Switzerland.

At present, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) operates 200 direct and intermodal weekly services in the world, and its international container shipping routes reach 335 ports in 6 continents.

MSC's Middle East line costs are very price advantageous compared to other shipping companies. The Middle East has a fixed weekly sailing schedule, which varies according to the destination port. You can consult your partner freight forwarder for the specific sailing schedule in order to arrange the delivery time in advance and catch up with the sailing schedule. From the viewpoint of sea transportation time, the destination port Dubai, for example, routinely takes about 15 days, this time compared to other shipping companies, the cycle time is short, can meet the customer's requirements for time. However, there are a lot of customers who take MSC reflect that its container as a whole is relatively old, easy to find the box dent and other problems, so when pick up the container, we need to check whether the box is intact, such as encountering problems, timely replacing box.

2. EVERGREEN MARINE CORP.(TAIWAN) LTD. is abbreviated as EMC.

Evergreen Marine Corp. (EMC) was founded on September 1, 1968. At the beginning of its establishment, it operated only one twenty-year old general cargo ship with hard work, and has developed to operate about 120 full container ships.

Its main trade routes are: Far East to North America, Central America and the Caribbean; Far East to Northern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean; Europe to the East Coast of North America; Far East to Australia, Mauritius, South Africa and South America; and intra-Asia service connecting ports, Asia to the Middle East, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.

EMC has the same price advantage as MSC, and the routes cover a wide range of European, American and Mediterranean routes. From the timeliness, EMC's Middle East line sea cycle is a little longer. For the rush sales season of goods, in the time to take the EMC ship, you need to ask in advance the ship's sea shipping cycle, to prevent sales being affected by the long transport cycle.

3. CHINA COSCO SHIPPING GROUP.

COSCO owns and controls nearly 800 modern merchant vessels with more than 56 million deadweight tons and an annual cargo volume of over 400 million tons. Its ocean shipping routes cover more than 1,600 ports in more than 160 countries and regions around the world. The fleet size of COSCO is the largest in China and the second largest in the world. The fleet size of COSCO's container fleet is the largest in China and the third largest in the world after the acquisition of OOCL.

COSCO's tariff is higher than the two aforementioned shipping companies, and its route coverage is also very wide, focusing on extra-long, extra-heavy and extra-large cargoes in the ocean shipping market. If the product is mainly heavy cargo, you can consider COSCO shipping company, which also has a very efficient sea transportation cycle.

4. HYUNDAI MERCHANT MARINE CO., LTD. abbreviated as HMM.

Hyundai Merchant Marine (HYUNDAI MERCHANT MARINE, HMM) was founded on March 25, 1976, and is headquartered in Seoul (SEOUL), South Korea.

At the beginning, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) had only three very large tankers (VLCC). Today, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has grown into the world's largest multimodal shipping company with a fleet of BULK CARRIER, ORE CARRIER, CONTAINER SHIP, LNG TANK SHIP and special cargo ships.

HMM's Middle East, Europe and North America routes have been well known, with medium freight rates and fast shipping speed. If for new importers, in the case that they are not very familiar with the customs clearance process, the high quality service in the destination port will make you save a lot of heartache when clearing customs.

5. YANG MING MARINE TRANSPORT CORP. abbreviated as YML.

Yang Ming Marine Transport (YML) was founded on December 28, 1972, and its head office is located in Keelung, Taiwan. As of the end of December 2006, YML had 80 operating vessels with a capacity of 4.1 million DWT/ 321,000 TEU, including container vessels, bulk carriers, and coal carriers for Taipower. Yang Ming Marine (YML) is one of the youngest companies in the world in terms of average ship age.

Yang Ming Marine Transport (YML) is mainly engaged in international scheduled cargo transportation. Its routes include Asia - North America Northwest, Asia - North America Southwest, Asia - North America East Coast, Asia - East, West Mediterranean, Asia - Northern Europe, Asia / Red Sea, Northern Europe - North America East Coast, Mediterranean - North America East Coast, India - North America East Coast, North America East Coast - South America, Mediterranean interval, Asia interval, etc..

YML's Middle East and India-Pakistan routes are very advantageous and fast, but of course, the price is slightly higher compared to other shipping companies. Likewise, YML is very advantageous in the transportation of heavy cargo. If the product itself belongs to heavy cargo, you can consider YML and the aforementioned COSCO.

6. ZIM ISRAEL NAVIGATION CO., LTD. is abbreviated as ZIM.

ZIM (ZIM) is one of the largest container shipping companies in the world. Israel Shipping (ZIM) is owned by Israel Corp. under Ofer Brothers Group Ltd. It operates 27 regular liners to all continents and has a fleet of more than 90 ships calling at 265 ports around the world.

ZIM's shipping rates are medium and fast. Early on, we often hear feedback that ZIM's sailing schedule is unstable, so if the delivery date is very urgent, we recommend consulting the route's sailing schedule and departure punctuality.

To sum up, MSC,CSCL has relatively low freight rate and wide shipping line coverage, HMM,ZIM has medium freight rate and fast shipping speed, COSCO and YML has relatively high freight rate, but the shipping speed is also fast.

Lower freight rate: MSC, CSCL

Medium price and fast shipping speed: HMM, ZIM

Higher freight rates, faster: COSCO, YML

The freight rate is the most direct cost we have to consider. In addition, in the selection of shipping companies, there are also several points to pay attention to. 1.Whether the peak season to meet your box requirements. 2. whether the charges are in line with your expected costs. 3. Whether the voyage is in line with your timeliness requirements. 4. whether the ship date is in line with your loading date.

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