CHINA United Lines is strengthening its presence in the Middle East and Mediterranean with the establishment a new outfit in Dubai.

The so-called CULines West Asia Company will serve as the regional headquarters for the Chinese carrier. Its functions include planning, operating and managing regional services, joint ventures and strategic investments, said CULines chairman Raymond Chen.

“The establishment of the West Asia company further improves our strategic footprint in India, the Middle East and the Red Sea region, following the setup of the India company last month,” Chen said.

Lloyd’s List understands that the IMR service, an India-Middle East-Red Sea regional loop launched last year, is now operated by the newly set up firm.

It will also take over CULines’ other Middle East and Mediterranean services, except those that include a Chinese leg, and plans to launch a new service in the near future.

CULines’ current Middle East services include two China-Red Sea routes, REX and REX2, with the latter transiting the Suez Canal up to the Turkish port of Izmit, in addition to IMR and six Asia-Middle East Gulf products.

Its ship agency services in the region are provided by Dubai-based Sharaf Group.

CULines is one of the young container shipping carriers that has rapidly emerged by capitalising on market opportunities arising from external disruptions since the pandemic.

It had previously leveraged bureaucratic disruptions during lockdowns, which interrupted the routines of more established players, to swiftly become a main line operator. But it retreated from Asia-Europe and transpacific trades almost as quickly when rates collapsed.

Attacks by Houthi rebels on commercial ships since late 2023 gave CULines another new opening to enter the high-yielding Red Sea market as bigger rivals pulled back.