Jakarta, May 19, 2023 – IPC Terminal Petikemas/IPC TPK has launched a new direct service to India. The service, called the Thailand Chittagong Service (TCS), commenced with the berthing of MV Green Hope at Tanjung Priok International Terminal 3 on Thursday, May 18, 2023. The service, operated by MAP Trans Logistik and Arungi KN agents on behalf of VASI Shipping Line, serves the route from Laem Chabang to Surabaya, Jakarta, Port Klang, Chittagong, Yangon, and Katupali. The introduction of this new service is expected to boost export activities to India.
“In line with President Joko Widodo’s directive regarding bilateral trade between Indonesia and India, we fully support these efforts by serving the new TCS service,” said Guna Mulyana, President Director of IPC TPK.
According to information from the website http://www.kemendag.go.id, the total trade between Indonesia and India in 2022 reached USD 32.71 billion, representing a 55.68% increase compared to the previous year’s figure of USD 21.01 billion. In the same year, Indonesia’s exports to India amounted to USD 23.38 billion, while imports from India to Indonesia stood at USD 9.33 billion. As a result, Indonesia achieved a trade surplus of USD 14.05 billion.
The Panama-flagged MV Green Hope has a length overall (LOA) of 172 meters and a beam of 28 meters. The vessel, departing from Surabaya, is scheduled to load 332 TEUs from IPC TPK’s Terminal 3. This ship marks the second new service in 2023.
“We would like to express our gratitude to the IPCTPK team for their assistance in ensuring the smooth handling of this inaugural vessel, and we look forward to continuing our partnership. MAP and Arungi aim to make a meaningful contribution to this industry by prioritizing collaboration with all stakeholders and the existing ecosystem. Our future plans include expanding direct services from Jakarta to several potential destination ports, such as the Middle East,” said Dhany Novianto, CEO at Arungi Khatulistiwa Nusantara.
The welcoming ceremony was attended by Ahmad Mimbar, Director of Operations & Engineering at IPC TPK, and Dhany Novianto, CEO at Arungi Khatulistiwa Nusantara, to signify the opening of the new service to the second-most populous country in the world.
“India has been the largest average export destination for Indonesia in the past five years. It is our hope that the TCS service will facilitate the government’s efforts to increase export figures and create business opportunities for entrepreneurs and SMEs, enabling them to expand their market share and promote Indonesia’s flagship commodities and domestic products to India,” concluded Guna.