Container Shipping Line Announce More Route Changes

EUROPE – US – ASIA – Just two days after our story on CMA CGM subsidiary CNC expanding their Asian services comes news of yet more adjustments to the French container lines routes affecting three continents. The Yang Tse service linking South, Central and North China to the West Coast of the United States, which is operated in tandem with Maersk Line and MSC, will recommence shipping operations from the 10th July in Xiamen.

The new service will complement the Group’s existing services between China and the US West Coast (Bohai Rim and Pearl River) thus providing optimum port coverage thanks to the addition of three new calls in Xiamen (Eastbound), Hong Kong and Qingdao as well as an extra call in Shanghai (WGQ) and allowing the company to respond to the rebound of volumes on the trade linking China to the United States by strengthening its presence and improving transit times on this key transpacific trade lane.

The service will deploy a total of six vessels of 6,500 TEU capacity, covering the port rotation: Xiamen, Shanghai (Wai Gao Qiao), Qingdao, Long Beach, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Xiamen.

CMA CGM have also upgraded their Victory Bridge service linking North Europe to US South Atlantic, Mexico and the US Gulf. Operated in partnership with CSAV, this new service will replace the one previously operated in cooperation with MSC and will deploy five vessels of 3,000 teus, three of which will be supplied by CMA CGM. The intention is to strengthen CMA CGM’s presence on both trades between North Europe to the US and North Europe to Mexico.

There will be an extra port call in Rotterdam to meet the needs of North European exporters as well as reefer importers with two weekly sailings between Mexico & North Europe and providing the most direct route and fastest transits from South Florida to Northern Europe.

The rotation will be: Le Havre - Antwerp - Rotterdam - Bremerhaven - Charleston - Miami - Vera Cruz - Altamira - Houston - Miami - Le Havre

The new service will commence operations in October and the ports of Savannah, and Felixstowe called in the previous rotation, will continue to be served through CMA CGM’s Round The World and Liberty Bridge services.