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Shipping carrier Ocean Network Express has commenced a new route linking Georgia with India’s western coast, enabling tighter connections between the growing port and one of its up-and-coming markets.
The ONE Modern called on the Savannah port June 18, bringing its weekly direct India services to four. The new route stops at key ports in India and southern Pakistan, also loading cargo in New York on the way down the Atlantic coast.
Griff Lynch, chairman of the Georgia Ports Authority, said the new service shows how India’s role as a manufacturing hub is growing and that the country presents a “remarkable opportunity.”
India routes often transit the Suez Canal, then pass through the Mediterranean en route to the East Coast. For months, however, they have been diverting around the southern tip of Africa to avoid conflict in the Red Sea, where Houthi rebels from Yemen have fired rockets at approaching ships.
Even with the diversions, Mr. Lynch said, coming to Savannah is three to five days faster than heading to the U.S. West Coast and sending cargo across the country on rail. A fleet of nine ships operated by ONE is used on the new India route.
The ports authority announced in 2023 that India was its fastest-growing market by containers. The value of imports from India to Georgia, however, dropped from $4.3 billion in 2023 from $4.8 billion in the prior year after experiencing dramatic growth in the preceding period.