The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) is to introduce a new service from Visakhapatnam and Katupalli (Chennai) on the east coast to move coastal cargo to Dubai in a push designed to transform Visakhapatnam into a container hub.

The port rotation of new service is Mundra, Pipavav, Koch, Tuticorin, Katupalli, Visakhapatnam, Colombo, Mundra and Jebel Ali in Dubai.

The service, SCI Middle East India Liner Service (SMILE), is to be launched soon on a monthly basis through a dedicated feeder vessel providing direct connectivity to the Middle East. Depending on the market response, the frequency would be increased, SCI sources told The Hindu of Chennai.