THE Meratus Gorontalo made the maiden call on Meratus Line’s new PNG Express service late last month.

The Indonesian logistics company’s new service makes direct connections from Papua New Guinea to Indonesia via Jakarta. The service calls at Motukea International Container Terminal (MIT) in Port Moresby and the South Pacific International Container Terminal (SPICT) in Lae – both terminals operated ICTSI South Pacific.

SPICT recently commissioned two new post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes, which ICTSI says are the first such cranes and largest port equipment in PNG.

ICTSI South Pacific chief executive officer Robert Maxwell said Meratus’ new service highlights the importance of the container ports in PNG.

“We look forward to enhancing our partnership and co-operation with Meratus Line to provide PNG importers and exporters with increasingly frequent vessel connections to our neighbours in Indonesia and East Timor,” he said.