IN MID-DECEMBER ANL will add a fifth ship to the PAX service between South East Asia and northern/north-western Australia to provide weekly frequency on each loop and thus the first scheduled weekly international calls to Pilbara ports.
The 1037 TEU Sofrana Surville joins 1103 TEU the Scion Mafada on the Singapore, Surabaya, Dili, Darwin loop while the three 628 TEU MCP-types, ANL Darwin Trader, ANL Burrup Trader and ANL Hedland Trader will now be dedicated to the Singapore, Dampier, Port Hedland rotation. The format will become fully effective in mid-January once all ships are in schedule position.
The service carries a mixture of containerised cargo, break bulk and project cargo up to 100 tonnes – for example ANL Darwin Trader is shipping a full load of mining truck trays from Batam to Dampier for Rio Tinto.
ANL says that by leveraging Singapore as a key trashipment hub, the enhanced PAX service will provide businesses in the Pilbara with access to extensive connections across the Indian Sub-Continent, the Middle East Gulf, Europe, and North East Asia.
“This move represents a transformative shift for the region, which previously relied on routing the majority of its containerised import cargo through Fremantle, requiring over 1,600 kilometres of road transport.
“By shipping direct to Pilbara, businesses benefit from faster delivery times, reduced door-to-door costs, and a smaller emissions profile compared to longer in-direct shipping routes,” ANL said.
ANL first ventured into the Pilbara with a single ship in late 2019.
One of PAX’s principal customers, Rio Tinto, attributes the saving of hundreds of tonnes of CO2 emissions and truck trips to the direct service availability.
