Global shipping leader Maersk has inaugurated a significant new ocean freight service, the FI2, designed to bolster trade links between China and India. This dedicated weekly corridor connects major Chinese ports with India's western coast, aiming to streamline logistics and address growing demand in the region.
New FI2 Service Details
The FI2 feeder service will link Shanghai, Ningbo, and Nansha in China directly with India’s Nhava Sheva and Pipavav ports. From India, the route extends to Port Qasim in Pakistan, with transshipment handled at Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia. The first westbound sailing is scheduled for June 4, 2026, from Shanghai.
Operating with a fleet of six vessels, each capable of carrying 4,500 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), the service underscores the substantial trade volumes moving between Far East Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Maersk states the FI2 is a direct response to customer needs for increased capacity, consistency, and connectivity on this vital route.
Strategic Advantage: India's Dedicated Freight Corridor
A key feature of the FI2 service is its integration with India’s Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) rail network via Gujarat’s Pipavav port. This multimodal approach, combining maritime freight with high-speed inland rail logistics, is expected to significantly reduce cargo transit times into northern Indian industrial and consumption hubs like Delhi-NCR, Gurugram, and Noida.
Industry experts anticipate this enhanced connectivity will particularly benefit sectors dealing with high-value and time-sensitive shipments, including automotive components, chemicals, retail merchandise, and technology products. Faster inland movement also promises improved supply-chain predictability, a critical factor for businesses navigating global disruptions and rising logistics costs.
Bilateral Trade Reaches Record Highs
The launch of Maersk's FI2 service comes amidst record-breaking bilateral trade between India and China, which touched $155.6 billion in 2025. Despite ongoing geopolitical tensions and strategic rivalry, economic interdependence between the two Asian giants continues to deepen.
China remains a crucial trading partner for India, supplying essential industrial inputs such as machinery, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), electronics, and manufacturing components. Conversely, India exports commodities and raw materials, including iron ore, to China.
Yu Jing, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in India, highlighted the commercial rationale behind Maersk's decision, stating, "when the world’s largest container line bets on a trade lane, it’s not politics. It’s cargo math."
Maersk's Integrated Logistics Vision
Thomas Theeuwes, Managing Director for Maersk South Asia, emphasized the company's commitment to integrated logistics. "By combining the weekly ocean service with our rail solution via the DFC, we are going a step further and giving our customers the true integrated logistics experience," he explained.
The FI2 will complement Maersk’s existing FI3 route, establishing two direct Far East-India ocean services. This dual-service structure aims to offer businesses greater frequency options, routing flexibility, and strengthened supply-chain resilience in an increasingly volatile global trade environment.
The timing of this announcement is notable, signaling that despite global "China plus one" strategies, the commercial ties between India and China continue to strengthen rather than decouple.