The liner carrier CMA CGM said it is joining with Maersk Line on a new Asia/East Africa service as a vessel operator from July 24.
The French line will provide two of 10 vessels on the service, with Maersk providing the other eight on a loop that will essentially replace Maersk’s existing FEW3 service, CMA CGM said.
The new service, which CMA CGM is dubbing New Africa Express, will have a rotation of Yantian, Nansha, Tanjung Pelepas, Port Kelang, Cape Town, Pointe Noire, Tema, Cape Town, and Yantian. It will be operated with vessels in the 4,000- to 4,500-TEU range.
Maersk’s FEW3 service has a rotation of Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai, Nansha, Tanjung Pelepas, Cape Town, Pointe Noire, Tema, Cape Town, and Qingdao. It’s operated with 12 vessels (10 from Maersk and two from its subsidiary Safmarine) with an average capacity of 3,427 TEUs, according to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data.
CMA CGM said the new joint service will not add capacity to the trade.
“The New AFEX service will ensure schedule reliability with owned berthing windows as well as fast transit time,” said Ludovic Rozan, vice president of CMA CGM Africa, Indian Ocean and Oceania Lines. “The key aim of this product will be to develop a new direct link from Asia to Ghana.”
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