Gold Star opens northern Vietnam-EC India service

Hong Kong-based intra-Asia carrier Gold Star Line (GSL) has become the second carrier to offer direct connections between northern Vietnam and India’s east coast, attracted by rising Indian demand for Vietnam manufactured goods.

GSL’s India-Vietnam Express (IVX) connects the niche port of Chu Lai in central Vietnam, Haiphong in Northern Vietnam, Kattupalli and Chennai on the east coast of India, and Port Klang in Malaysia.

The service, which began with GSL’s chartered vessel, the 1,134 teu Asiatic Moon on 14 December, also links the regions it covers to ports outside of the region via transhipment at Port Klang.

Concurrently, GSL will offer a China-Thailand-Vietnam service by purchasing slots on Regional Container Lines’ RBH service, which was formed by restructuring three intra-Asia services in March 2019.

Container volumes from South East Asia, particularly Vietnam, have been growing because US-China trade tensions caused manufacturers to shift some production from China to Vietnam.

GSL announced the IVX two weeks after Wan Hai Lines, Ocean Network Express, COSCO Shipping Lines and X-Press Feeders began the India East Coast Express 2 route.