The American President Line (APL) is to resume its Gulf service for Jebel Ali from September 9, curtailing the transit time to 10 days.
The new weekly service, for which the cut of date for the export cargo is Wednesday every week, will sail to Novashiva (Mumbai), Salalah and Jebel Ali from the Karachi Port on every Thursday.
The leading shipping carrier had suspended its Gulf service about six months ago and made space arrangements with Bengal Tiger Shipping Line to continue to serve its customers.
A spokesman of the APL said on Friday that the new service would ensure 23-day transit time to New York, which would facilitate the shipment of export cargo from Karachi to Europe and the US.
The main cargo for Karachi is textile products and fruits during the mango and Kinno season.
Meanwhile, the shipping lines increased their freight by 300 dollars per 20-foot container from September 1.
The increase was announced by India-Pakistan-Bangladesh-Ceylon (IPBC) Conference, which raised the freight, by 250 dollars for a 20-foot container.
The lines also announced to slap a currency adjustment factor (CAF) at the rate of 7.3 percent of the freight. The combining affect of the two comes to an increase of 300 dollars per 20-foot container.
The trade has been demanding of the Ministry of Communications to restore the Shipping Rate Advisory Board (SRAB) to regulate the freight charged by the shipping lines.
The Board had been set up a few years ago, but due to strong lobbying by the foreign shipping companies remained ineffective to take any decision.