PIL and Wan Hai will launch a joint weekly service linking China and south east Asia to the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea with the December 16 sailing of the 2,732-TEU Kota Perwira to be followed by the Wan Hai 311, the Kota Kado and the Hammonia Tuetonica and four other ships.

Called the Blacksea China Service (BSC) by PIL, it will follow a rotation of Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Shenzhen-Shekou, Singapore and Port Kelang to Port Said, Alexandria, Istanbul, Odessa and Novorossiysk (though Novorossiysk will not be covered until February).

The new service complements the Sino-Black Sea service (SBS), which links Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen-Shekou, Singapore and Port Kelang, Damietta, Istanbul and Ilichevsk.