by Priya Radünzel, 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
Asia↔Middle East
COSCO and OOCL added a port call in Jebel Ali to their service connecting the Indian Subcontinent to the Middle East.
- Carrier service name: AGI2 (COSCO), UIG2(OOCL)
- Port rotation: Nhava Sheva - Hazira - Mundra - Abu Dhabi - Jebel Ali - Sharjah - Khalifa Bin Salman Port - Hamad - Abu Dhabi - Sohar - Nhava Sheva
- First sailing: Future, ATD Nhava Sheva 2 October
Asia↔North America
From late October, MSC will add a call in Haiphong, Vietnam, to its Chinook Service, directly connecting Vietnam with the USA and Canada.
- Carrier service name: Chinook
- Port rotation: Haiphong - Yantian - Shanghai - Qingdao - Busan - Vancouver - Seattle - Portland - Haiphong
- First sailing: MSC Damla 443A, ETD Haiphong 23 October
Asia↔North Europe
At the beginning of October, Hapag-Lloyd added a Ningbo to its China Germany Express service.
- Carrier service name: CGX
- Port rotation: Antwerp - Ningbo - Yantian - Singapore - Singapore - Tema - Wilhelmshaven - Antwerp
- First sailing: Coyhaique, ATD Ningbo, 6 October
Intra-Europe
MSC launched a service connecting Germany to the Baltics in late September.
- Carrier service name: Baltic Loop 7
- Port rotation: Bremerhaven - Klaipeda - Gdynia - Gothenburg - Bremerhaven
- First sailing: Orion, ATD Tilbury, 27 September
ONE will launch two new weekly Northern Europe ↔ Mediterranean services in January 2025 as follows:
- Carrier service name: Aegean Express (AEX)
- Port rotation: London Gateway, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Piraeus, Istanbul, Gebze, Gemlik, Aliaga, Piraeus, London Gateway
- First sailing: TBA
- Carrier service name: Levant Express (LEX)
- Port rotation: London Gateway, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, Alexandria, Damietta, Mersin,
- First sailing: TBA
North Europe↔ South Africa
Maersk, ONE, and Hapag-Lloyd will alter their service rotation between South Africa and Northern Europe at the end of October. By swapping London and Rotterdam calls, the carriers aim to improve operational efficiency and service reliability.
- Carrier service name: SAECS (Maersk), SRX (ONE), SAX(Hapag-Lloyd)
- Port rotation: Port Elizabeth (Coega) - Durban - Cape Town - London Gateway - Rotterdam - Bremerhaven - Algeciras (APMT) - Algeciras (TTIA)
- First sailing: Santa Isabel 244S ETA London 28 October
North America↔South America
Starting from 19 October, Maersk will temporarily call Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande on a bi-weekly basis on its Tango service. Norfolk will continue to be omitted.
- First sailing Rio de Janeiro: Monte Tamaro 442N, ETD Buenos Aires, 19 October (calls at Rio de Janeiro, omits Rio Grande)
- First sailing to Rio Grande: Monte Verde 443N (calls at Rio Grande, omits Rio de Janeiro)
This schedule will be in effect until the Monte Tamaro 446S/449N. These changes aim to improve the reliability of the Tango service and address congestion in Newark and adverse weather conditions. Norfolk will be serviced via barge from Philadelphia.
Central America↔Caribbean
From 24 October, Hapag Lloyd will omit Manzanillo, Panama on its Gulf Bridge service until further notice.
- Carrier service name: GC2
- Port rotation: Puerto Santo Tomas de Castilla - Puerto Cortes - Puerto Moin - Cartagena - Caucedo - San Juan - Cartagena - Puerto Santo Tomas de Castilla
- First sailing: Velika 2240SB/NB
Transpacific
In mid-October, Maersk, MSC and ZIM will temporarily remove Cristobal from a Transpacific service to improve schedule reliability. In addition, Jacksonville and Savannah calls will be swapped.
- Carrier service name: TP16 (Maersk), Emerald(MSC), ZSA(ZIM)
- Port rotation: Xiamen - Yantian - Shanghai - Busan - Jacksonville - Savannah - Wilmington - Newark - Singapore - Xiamen
- First eastbound sailing: Greenfield 442E, ETD Xiamen 18 October
- First westbound sailing: Greenfield 447W, ETD Jacksonville 27 November
