by Manal Barakat, SeaNewsEditor

Container shipping companies adjust their services in response to market dynamics and operational hurdles. Stay informed of upcoming changes with Kuehne+Nagel's carrier service update, published bi-weekly on Sea News and seaexplorer.

New & revised services

Mediterranean ↔ North Europe

Starting in mid-August, carriers COSCO, OOCL and Yang Ming will revise the port rotation of the NET2/NEX. The new rotation adds port calls at Casablanca and Lisbon.

• Carrier service name: NET2/NEX
• Port rotation: Piraeus – Salerno – Casablanca – Lisbon – Felixstowe – Hamburg – Rotterdam – Antwerp – Piraeus – Mersin – Iskenderun – Haifa – Alexandria – Piraeus
• First sailing: Navios Vermillion, ETD 11 August

Asia ↔ North Europe

Maersk and MSC will revise the port rotation of the AE6/LION as of mid-August.

• Carrier service name: AE6/LION
• Port rotation: Ningbo – Shanghai – Yantian – Tanjung Pelepas – Sines – Le Havre – Antwerp – Felixstowe – Algeciras – Singapore – Laem Chabang – Ningbo.
• First sailing: MSC Michel Cappelini, ETD 12 August

The carriers will also revise the port rotations of the CONDOR/AE7 and the GRIFFIN /AE55.

• Carrier service name: CONDOR/AE7
• Port rotation: Felixstowe – Hamburg – Antwerp – London Gateway – Tangier– Abu Dhabi – Jebel Ali – Ningbo – Shanghai – Nansha – Yantian – Tanjung Pelepas – Colombo – Tangier – Felixstowe.
• First sailing: MAERSK Horsburgh, ETD 14 August

• Carrier service name: GRIFFIN/AE55
• Port rotation: Shanghai – Ningbo – Xiamen – Yantian – Tanjung Pelepas – Felixstowe – Rotterdam – Tangier – Hong Kong – Shanghai.
• First sailing: MSC Vandya, ETD 18 August

Also, on this route, MSC is revising the BRITANNIA service by dropping the port call at the London Gateway and adding a port stop at Le Havre.

• Carrier service name: BRITANNIA 
• Port rotation: Shanghai – Ningbo – Yantian – Vung Tau – Liverpool – Rotterdam – Hamburg – Antwerp – Le Havre – Pointe des Galets – Port Louis – Singapore – Shanghai.
• First sailing: MSC Trieste, ETD 13 August

Asia ↔ Middle East

MSC is launching a new service in Week 35, connecting Asia with the Middle East.

• Carrier service name: CLANGA
• Port rotation: Shanghai – Ningbo – Shekou – Singapore – Ad Dammam – Shanghai.
• First sailing: yet to be confirmed

Mediterranean ↔ North America

MSC is suspending the MEDGULF service, connecting the Mediterranean, the US East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico.

Other news

Following the Yang Ming vessel incident, where a container exploded, causing fire onboard the vessel YM Mobility, several carriers announced new measures for dangerous goods.

Kuehne+Nagel reports that multiple carriers have stopped accepting Class5 DG at Shanghai and Ningbo ports. Please refer to the recent advisory and the table below for more information.

For more point-to-point service options, refer to seaexplorer.