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Turkon and Arkas increase India-Mediterranean offering with Concor collaboration

Turkish carriers Turkon Line and Arkas Line, relative newcomers to the Indian trade landscape, are rapidly cementing their operations in the emerging market. A vessel-sharing agreement (VSA) between Turkon and Arkas, launched in early 2025 with regular sailings between West India and the Red Sea region, has now been upgraded with bigger tonnage, as the service appeal brightens. A brand new 4,000-teu LNG-fuelled vessel recently joined the weekly loop, enhancing loading capacity for both carriers out of India. The Kasif Kalkavan (pictured above), was added to Turkon's fleet in July, and is said to be the first domestically built LNG-powered dual-fuel containership. The latest tonnage phase-in follows Turkon adding a fifth 4,000-teu vessel into the joint service last October. Turkon has branded the service as Turkey-Red Sea-India (TRI), with Arkas operating it as India-Med Service (IMS). The VSA partners recently expanded the service coverage with a new call at Safaga port in Egypt. The updated rotation is Ambarli-Izmit-Aliaga-Mersin-Iskenderun-Safaga-Jeddah-Nhava Sheva-Mundra-Ambarli. Turkon is represented in India by third-party agent Abrao Group, while Arkas' local operations are handled by Mumbai-based Parekh Group. The niche regional carriers have already made significant inroads into the India-Mediterranean trade - a market that is traditionally controlled by the larger deepsea carriers - riding on aggressive sales and pricing strategies along with customised intermodal rail service support, especially for Indian reefer export cargo. The rail push included Arkas collaborating with state-owned intermodal operator Container Corporation of India (Concor) to offer specialised, double-stack block train services connecting major inland container depots, including Dadri near Delhi, to Nhava Sheva (JNPA) and Mundra ports. "The launch of the double stack reefer block train will deliver a game-changing advantage for cold chain logistics in India, offering customers enhanced efficiency, reduced transit times and an environmentally sustainable logistics solution," Arkas earlier said. However, industry updates suggest containerised trade out of Turkey is being plagued by growing equipment availability issues, seemingly due to carriers' strained inventory cycles in the wake of persistent service disruptions amid the Middle East geopolitical quagmire. Reflecting that bottleneck, MSC has just announced it will begin charging a $100 per container equipment repositioning surcharge (ERC) for trades across Turkish ports, effective 1 October. Container freight rates on the India-Med trade have been strong because of capacity pressures, as mainliners had suspended or curtailed Red Sea routings over operational safety and security risks. Surcharges continue to pour into Persian Gulf-related trades. The newest announcement comes from Hapag-Lloyd, seeking additional charges for offering an alternative solution for affected Aden-bound cargo currently in Jeddah port. The carrier said stranded containers would be transported from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Aden, Yemen, via a third-party feeder service at an extra cost to customers. The surcharges range between $1,700 and $5,000 per container, varying in cargo/equipment types. You can contact the writer at [email protected]

Kuwait Airways denies suspension of air cargo operations

Kuwait Airways has denied reports that its air cargo operations have been suspended alongside safety concerns, confirming that airfreight activities and flights are functioning as normal. The airline issued a statement on social media platform X on 11 September, which said reports about its air cargo operations, which are based at Kuwait International Airport, were "inaccurate". "Kuwait Airways categorically confirms that reports alleging the suspension of air cargo operations or raising concerns regarding their safety are inaccurate," said the airline. "Air cargo operations continue in accordance with approved operational procedures, in close coordination with the relevant authorities, and in full compliance with all applicable security and safety standards." The Government of Kuwait's Directorate General of Civil Aviation also said in a statement: "Air cargo and goods transport flights are continuing and will not be stopped." Questions around Kuwait Airways' cargo operations appear to have emerged after it had issued a customer circular announcing a temporary stop on cargo delivered by agents from 9-25 September, with the exception of some specialist cargo and express mail shipments. While Kuwait Airways confirmed its cargo operations had not been suspended, it did not explain why the restrictions had been introduced. According to The Times Kuwait, the measures had been introduced because of a cargo backlog and operational congestion at Kuwait Airways' cargo facility at Kuwait International Airport. Kuwait Airways' current official cargo page currently describes its facility as handling import/export cargo 24/7.

Cathay Cargo to add transpacific freighter capacity as peak approaches

Cathay Cargo will add more transpacific freighter capacity from this month to cater for growth in technology-related shipments as the peak season approaches. In Cathay Cargo's latest 'From the Main Deck' newsletter, Jonathan Ng, head of cargo hub operations & development, said that transpacific trade had been fuelled by growth in semiconductor and data-centre equipment shipments. He said: "Cargo demand has remained positive over the summer, particularly due to growth in semiconductor and data-centre equipment shipments from across Asia to our transpacific markets." "The first priority is getting the balance between demand and capacity right," Ng added. "We're adding additional freighter capacity to the Americas from this month to meet current demand and support further growth during the peak." Last month, Cathay reported that semiconductor and lithium battery shipments had helped grow year on year volumes in July. In addition to sustained transpacific trade, Cathay Cargo has also seen increasing volumes of lithium battery shipments from northeast Asia and the Greater Bay Area passing through its Hong Kong hub. The upcoming addition of a leased Airbus A330 passenger to freighter (P2F) aircraft, which is currently undergoing conversion in Shanghai, will support Cathay Pacific subsidiary Air Hong Kong to meet regional demand for general cargo. Cathay Cargo is also working on improving its specialist shipment solutions, especially with regards to safety. Ng said the airline had "been working closely with shippers and forwarders to ensure that our checklists align with their requirements for the increasing volumes of AI chips, server racks, vibration-sensitive wafer steppers".