The delivery time for the exports to Europe will be cut with the change of sailing schedule of Maersk Sealand, a major shipping carrier.
The carrier, which carries over 70 percent Pakistan exports to Europe, operated two vessels a week from Port Qasim (PQ) every Wednesday and Saturday. Under the new schedule, effective from July 15, sailing has been changed to Tuesday and Thursday.
A spokesman of the carrier said on Tuesday that schedule had been changed in line with regional rotation of the sailing which were result of improvement in berthing windows.
The change in sailing schedule would help exporters as it would cut the delivery time to destinations in Europe and the United States.
The spokesman did not specify the exact cut in delivery time and said that it was difficult to notify reduced time for every port, but on average the delivery schedule would definitely improve.
A notice to the trade issued by the line says that cut off for submission of the shipping instructions for the US Customs 24 hours rule is Thursday, July 15 at 1200 hrs. Once the capacity of the vessel is declared full by the vessel cargo planners, no more cargo will be accepted.
Earlier, the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) took several measures to augment smooth flow of the exports from Qasim International Container Terminal (QICT). It allowed separate gates for entry and exit of the cargo after exporters suffered from great delays in delivery of the export containers for the shipments.
The PQA enforced strict security measures under International Ships and Port Security (ISPS) code from July 1.
The ship agents and cargo-handling agents have welcomed the measures and assured the PQA of their fullest co-operation in implementation of the ISPS code.