– Upgraded North Asia Express (NAX) service to offer market-leading speed and reliability with fixed-day weekly sailings

– Expands capacity with deployment of additional tonnage and the fastest direct connection from Lae to Shanghai

Singapore – Swire Shipping, a leading shipping company in the Asia-Pacific, today announced a significant upgrade to its North Asia Express (NAX) service with the introduction of fixed-day weekly sailings and expanded capacity. Effective 22 August 2025, the service will offer market-leading speed and reliability, significantly enhancing connectivity between the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong SAR and Papua New Guinea.

The upgraded NAX service will feature a weekly port rotation of Shanghai – Ningbo – Nansha – Hong Kong – Lae – Shanghai, with the fastest direct connection currently in the market from Lae to Shanghai. Reliable transhipment connections to Solomon Islands, New Caledonia and Fiji are available in Lae via Swire Shipping’s service network in the South Pacific, through its Papua New Guinea (PNG) fortnightly service and Pacific Weekly Express (PWX) service.

This upgrade reflects Swire Shipping’s ongoing commitment to supporting customer supply chains with dependable, high-frequency services across the region.

“Upgrading our North Asia Express (NAX) service to a weekly frequency doubles the number of sailings available to customers, giving them faster access to markets and more options to align shipments with production cycles, inventory needs, and delivery timelines,” said Randy Selvaratnam, Chief Commercial Officer of Swire Shipping. “This reflects our continued investment in expanding capacity and high-frequency shipping solutions that support our customers’ evolving supply chain needs.”

The upgraded NAX service will be the second in Swire Shipping’s comprehensive network in the Asia-Pacific to offer weekly connections into Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. It follows the successful launch of the PWX service in February 2023, that connects Southeast Asia with Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia and Fiji on a weekly schedule. The NAX service was first launched in July 2015 to provide a direct link between North Asia and the South Pacific, and was upgraded in October 2020 to a fixed-day fortnightly service to better support customers’ supply chains.

More information on the service details can be found on Swire Shipping’s website.

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Appendix – Upgraded NAX Weekly Sailing Schedule