A direct service between India and the Western Mediterranean has been inaugurated by MSC, the world's biggest shipping line, with the 11,700 TEU container ship Ivana berthing at Malta Freeport.

Some 1,800 containers were unloaded.

Malta Freeport Terminals CEO Alex Montebello said: “We are pleased to extend our relationship with MSC through this service which continues to reinforce Malta’s status within the MSC network.”

The new service offers transit times between Mundra and Genoa in 19 days, Valencia in 23 days and Nhava Sheva to Barcelona in 16 days.

The India – West Med Service also connects with MSC’s broad networks in Genoa and Valencia, opening new opportunities for exporters across the region and enhancing support for automotive, apparel and pharmaceutical industries between India and the West Mediterranean.

Major shipping lines currently calling at the Freeport include the Ocean Alliance – CMA CGM, Cosco, OOCL and Evergreen as well as MSC, Hapag-Lloyd, Marfret, and ONE.

Malta Freeport is connected to 16 mainline services calling on a weekly basis and provides links to 115 ports worldwide, over 50 of which are in the Mediterranean.

Malta Freeport Terminals has in recent years invested heavily in upgrading all areas of the operation: from developing the berths, to new equipment, the development of a new fuel station complying with the latest environmental standards; increasing reefer slots as well and installing the latest IT and semi-automation technology among others.

The facility handled 2.89 million TEUs (containers) in 2022 in what proved to be a challenging year for the industry due to the aftermath of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

The new India-West Med Service calls at Malta Freeport – King Abdullah – Jeddah– Abu Dhabi - Jebel Ali – Mundra – Nhava Sheva – Djibouti – Gioia Tauro – Genoa – Barcelona – Valencia – Salerno – Gioia Tauro and back to Malta Freeport.