A new container shipping link has been established between Townsville and Taiwan’s largest port city of Kaohsiung, one of the top 10 container ports in the world.

Mariana Express Lines Ltd (MELL) will operate the new service on a continuous rotation between the two cities, commencing with the arrival of its vessel, the MV Ice Moon, on 31 March 2009.

Port of Townsville Chief Executive Officer Mr Barry Holden said the announcement was a major boost for Port customers, with the service connecting to destinations right around the world.

MELL provides regular weekly sailing between the port of Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Keelung, Saipan, Guam, Yap, Palau and other countries in the Asia Pacific and as far as Europe.

The MV Ice Moon will be calling into Townsville every three weeks. Built in 2008, the ship is nearly 140 metres in length and has a container capacity of 698 TEUs.

MELL is an international shipping line with a strong reputation for transport efficiency. It has a strong maritime tradition and is renowned for its dependability and commitment to customer satisfaction.

MELL’s core operations are focused on handling customers’ full container load (FCL) and break bulk requirements. It maintains a container fleet that supports traditional 20‐foot and 40‐foot containers, as well as reefer containers and tanktainers.