Companies will benefit from lower freight costs following the introduction of a fortnightly service from international shipping operator Mariana Express to the Townsville Port, the Townsville Bulletin reported.

The Mell Singapore arrived in Townsville on Tuesday and will carry out a fixed schedule between the city and Kaohsiung in Taiwan, Shanghai in China and Darwin.

It's introduction follows an increase in demand since the company began container services between Townsville and Kaohsiung last year. Northern Stevedoring Services (NSS) general manager Todd Emmert said they were distributing cargo locally as well as transporting loads by road to Cairns and Mackay.

"This is the largest container exchange that we've had in Townsville for quite some years, if not the largest we've had here ever. With schedule reliability that this vessel will bring we expect demand to grow. We've seen container volumes grow significantly over the last two years . . . we expect to increase the amount of cargo that's imported," he said.

The ship can carry about 1100 containers, which is about 400 more than its predecessor MV Ice Moon which shipped to and from the city every three weeks.