Pakistan says a direct weekly sea service from Karachi to European ports has resumed after Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) reinstated its PREMIUM IPAK line.
Maritime Affairs Minister Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said MSC would make weekly calls at Karachi Gateway Terminal International. The service connects Karachi with Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Antwerp, Le Havre and London Gateway via Colombo.
The minister said the restored service would give exporters another shipping option after disruptions to international routes lengthened transit times and raised freight costs. He highlighted the textile sector and said the line’s return did not resolve wider shipping challenges.
Separately, the chairman of Karachi Port Trust proposed standardised 24/7 electronic delivery orders, risk-based inspections, non-intrusive scanning, joint inspections and common sampling at a meeting of a working group on shipping connectivity. Terminal operators said they were ready for night inspections, while Pakistan Customs was asked to facilitate round-the-clock operations. Dawn published the report on October 9, 2026.