Denmark’s Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping company, is promising Jordanian companies faster and easier access to global markets with the launch of a new service that directly connects Aqaba to South India and the Western Mediterranean.

With its new ME5 service, Maersk Line will deliver two additional direct calls to Aqaba on both east and west bound journeys, in addition to the current direct service that it operates from Northern Europe. This will bring the total of weekly sailings to and from Aqaba to four, three of which are direct services.

Anne Gronbjerg, Maersk’s managing director for Jordan, Kuwait, and Iraq said the new service would give Jordanian companies much quicker access to markets in the Mediterranean, the Indian subcontinent, the United States, and Australia. “To many markets, this is actually something that Jordan has never had before,” she explained.

The ME5 service was conceived as part of the company’s plans to position Aqaba as one of the premier logistic and investment hubs in the region, due to its strategic location and ability to service regional markets. “Aqaba is important to Maersk because Jordan is a growing market and it also serves as a gateway to Iraq and other neighboring countries,” Gronbjerg said.

The first ME5 ship departed from Chennai, India late last month. The service will follow a rotation that will include scheduled stops at ports in Colombo, Salalah, Jeddah, Aqaba, Port Said, Algeciras, Valencia, Genoa, and Djibouti, before finally returning to Chennai.