ISRAELI flag carrier Zim is to enhance Europe-to-Asia services with changes to East Med Express Service (EMX) by adding a new direct call to the Black Sea ports of Odessa and Novorossiysk.

The addition of these ports will enhance its connectivity to Russia and CIS countries and improve transit times to its major Asian ports with the addition of a call to Busan.

The EMC revised port rotation is now Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen-Dachan Bay, Port Kelang, Haifa, Ashdod, Istanbul, Odessa, Novorossiysk, Gemlik, Istanbul, Haifa, Mundra, Colombo, Port Kelang and back to Busan.

Zim is to launch a new weekly Asia-Black Sea service (ABS) to connect Asia with ports of Constanta, Romania and Illichivsk, Ukraine as well as the ports of Piraeus and Istanbul.

The ABC port rotation will have the following rotation: Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen-Shekou, Singapore, Port Kelang, Piraeus, Istanbul, Constanta, Illichivsk, Port Kelang and back to Shanghai.

Said Zim: "Together, these two additions constitute a significant upgrade, part of the company's strategy is to strengthen its leading position in the Black Sea with two weekly sailings, wider port coverage, improved transit times and higher reliability."