Evergreen and PIL Jointly Launch New Far East-South Africa Service
At the beginning of May 2026, Evergreen and Pacific International Lines announced plans to jointly launch the Far East – South Africa Express Service. The service was conceived in response to market demand for more capacity and faster service along the China-Africa Corridor.
Actually, Evergreen and PIL exited their long-standing 5-carrier alliance with COSCO, Ocean Network Express (ONE) and Gold Star Line to start their own service. At Evergreen, the service is coded as SAF, while PIL refers to it as UBX, or Ubuntu Express, a nod to the African philosophy of the ‘interconnectedness of humanity and community.’
“PIL has been serving Africa for decades, building deep market knowledge, strong partnerships and a trusted network across the continent. The launch of Ubuntu Express reflects our continued commitment to growing our presence in the region, complementing our existing services to add capacity and better support the burgeoning Asia–South Africa trade demand. With our modern vessels deployed across these services, we provide our customers with reliable, competitive and comprehensive solutions across their supply chains.”
PIL GM Longhaul William Ho
The ports on the loop are Shanghai, Ningbo, Kaohsiung, Shekou, Singapore, Durban, Cape Town, Singapore, then back to Shanghai. The transit time from Shekou to Durban can be as short as 20 days.
Nine container ships have been deployed on the line with capacities ranging from 4,800 to 5,600 TEU. The SC Mara is scheduled to undertake the maiden voyage by departing from Shanghai on 28 May 2026.
