Global shipping and logistics company Maersk is expanding its China-Australia ocean network, with the launch of a new express shipping service that will deliver faster transit times and greater supply chain reliability.
The new ‘Qilin’ service will commence on 24 July 2026 and will operate on a streamlined rotation between Shanghai, Sydney and Melbourne.
The service is designed to complement Maersk’s existing Dragon network, which will continue to operate as normal, providing significantly reduced transit times on one of Australia’s most important trade corridors.
According to Maersk, the Qilin service will reduce transit times from Shanghai to Sydney from 18 days to 14 days, while Shanghai-to-Melbourne shipments will fall from 21 days to 17 days.
Northbound routes will also see major improvements, with Sydney-to-Shanghai transit times reduced from 28 days to 19 days and Melbourne-to-Shanghai transit times reduced from 24 days to 15 days.
| From | To | Qilin | Dragon |
| Shanghai | Sydney | 14 days | 18 days |
| Shanghai | Melbourne | 17 days | 21 days |
| Sydney | Shanghai | 19 days | 28 days |
| Melbourne | Shanghai | 15 days | 24 days |
The company said the new loop will provide weekly departures and additional capacity between Greater China and Australia, helping customers improve planning certainty and respond more quickly to demand fluctuations.
Industry publication Daily Cargo News reports that the service will likely deploy vessels in the 2,800-3,500 TEU range.