CULines launches CN1 service, linking Eastern China's ports with Indonesia's key gateways for efficient cargo transport.
China United Lines (CULines) has launched the CN1 (China 1) service, a new direct weekly liner route connecting three of Eastern China's leading export ports with Indonesia's two principal container gateways. The service provides cargo owners with a fixed-day sailing option between Chinese manufacturing centers and Southeast Asian consumer and transshipment markets.
The intra-Asia carrier ranks 22nd among the world's container shipping operators, according to the Alphaliner TOP 100 dated October 5, 2026. Its operated fleet totals 106,809 TEU across 45 vessels. CULines also has an orderbook of 91,693 TEU across 18 ships, equal to 85.8% of its existing capacity, signaling continued fleet growth in the years ahead.
The CN1 loop follows a fixed weekly schedule designed to provide shippers with predictable lead times across regional supply chains. The port rotation is:
Shanghai (China) - Ningbo (China) - Quanzhou (China) - Jakarta (Indonesia) - Surabaya (Indonesia) - Shanghai
Key operating details include:
- Round-trip cycle: 28 days
- Sailing frequency: Fixed weekly departures
- Inaugural vessel: XIN YAN TIAN, voyage CHN0C0S89
- Maiden call: Shanghai, September 18, 2026
Under standard liner practice, a weekly frequency on a 28-day rotation requires four vessels to maintain the schedule.
The CN1 rotation links ports that anchor some of China's most productive industrial regions. Shanghai is the world's busiest container port and serves the Yangtze River Delta manufacturing base. Ningbo handles large volumes of manufactured exports from Zhejiang province. Quanzhou, in Fujian province, adds direct access to a major production center for textiles, footwear, building materials, and consumer goods.
On the Indonesian side, the service calls at Jakarta and Surabaya, home to the ports of Tanjung Priok and Tanjung Perak. These two gateways handle a significant share of the country's containerized trade. They also act as distribution points for cargo moving onward to other islands across the Indonesian archipelago.
Together, they create a single direct corridor between Chinese production and Indonesian consumption, with no intermediate transshipment between the origin and destination ports.
