MCC Rolls Out Direct China-Myanmar Shipping Service
The first direct shipping route between Myanmar and China, IA5 (Intra Asia 5) was launched in Yangon, by Maersk Line and MCC Transport.
Sources said that the Tokyo Trader, the first vessel to do direct shipping service has already left Shanghai on January 27 and is expected to arrive in Myanmar port city of Yangon on Februaty 9 at Yangon International Port.
It will run with eight vessels (1100 TEU), docking every week at Myanmar International Port. Industry leaders said this new service will cut shipment time to about six days compare to 18 days in the past, saying that even the first resection is positive, and there are prospects of growth in the future.
Maersk Line and MCC Transport are opened their agency office in Yangon in May 2014 and are among the few carriers that operate from their own office and not through a sales representative.
Tim Wickmann, Chief Executive Officer, MCC Transport, said in a press statement, "Along the fact that is cutting the transit time, obviously makes the trade more rapid and." He also said that the service will help Myanmar to be competitive in global platform but calling for more infrastructure development in the country.
Adds Dawid Sold, Country Manager (Myanmar), Maersk Line, “And having Myanmar business people competing, successfully competing with the nearest neighbor, this product and this innovation definitely will be a benefit to all. There are many challenges for average single country. We are the shipping line, we try to keep our processes simple and automatic and internet is a tool that allows us to maintain alone operational cost. So a challenge with the internet infrastructure in the country that's one of the things that we hope to improve in the near future."
