Maersk Line has introduced a call at Subic port in the Philippines on its Intra-Asia 4 (IA4) service due to ongoing port congestion in Manila.

The IA4 weekly service now has a call in and out of Subic, with the vessel arriving every Saturday morning and departing on the same day. The service’s maiden call at Subic port was on 3 January.

“With port calls in Subic, Manila and Batangas, we now have three weekly port calls in Luzon, which provides our customers with multiple options to choose from,” said Erry Hardianto, managing director of Maersk Line Philippines.

Port congestion in Manila had made 2014 a challenging year for the local shipping industry. “Despite the congestion, we have seen strong growth in volumes last year, and growing potential in the manufacturing and electronics sectors,” Hardianto said.

With a call at China’s Yantian port, the IA4 service provides connections to Maersk Line’s mother vessel services to Europe, US and other parts of the world. As such, Philippines exporters can also use Subic port as an alternative to Manila.

The full port rotation of the IA4 service is Vostochny, Busan, Kwanyang, Shanghai, Xiamen, Yantian, Hong Kong, Tanjung Pelepas, Singapore, Jakarta, Surabaya, Jakarta, Tanjung Pelepas, Singapore, Subic, Manila, Nansha, Yantian, Kaoshiung, Ningbo, Shanghai, Busan, Vostochny.