Maersk Line will reintroduce its CRX service in January connecting Mexico and Costa Rica directly with the U.K., the Netherlands and Germany.
The Danish carrier merged the CRX and the Ecubex services into one in mid-2011 but is now separating the two services.
As a standalone service, the CRX will cater to fresh fruit shippers from Belize, Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama to North Europe. The fruit loaded at Puerto Moin in Costa Rica will reach Tilbury and Rotterdam in 13 and 15 days, respectively.
The loop will also serve the supply chains of shippers in the auto, paper and chemical sectors.
Maersk will deploy six ships with capacities of 2,500 20-foot equivalent units and 600 reefer plugs on the following rotation: Bremerhaven, Veracruz, Altamira, Big Creek, Manzanillo, Puerto Moin, Cork, Tilbury, Rotterdam and back to Bremerhaven.
The first southbound sailing of the CRX service will be the departure of the Frisia Rotterdam from Bremerhaven on Dec. 15, and the first northbound sailing will be from Veracruz on Dec. 29 by the same ship.
The Journal of Commerce Online