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.

MSC opens bookings on its 2025 East-West service offering

MSC announced today, 16 December it has opened bookings for its 2025 standalone East-West network.

This follows service enhancements announced in late November, creating more direct port pair connections and competitive transit times on key East-West trades.

The announced changes were as follows:

Asia→North Europe

1. Lion - Added call in Nansha
2. Swan-Sentosa - Added call in Yantian westbound and direct call to Yokohama (replacing Busan)
3. Britannia - Added call in Colombo
4. Albatros - Added call in London Gateway after Felixstowe

Asia→Mediterranean/Black Sea

1. Dragon - Added calls in Nansha and reshuffled Colombo with Vizhinjam on the eastbound leg.
2. Jade - Added call in Vizhinjam, India, before sailing to the Mediterranean

Asia→North American East Coast

1. America - Added call in Colombo eastbound from the US East Coast back to Asia

Transpacific

1. Mustang- a new service with the following port rotation: Xiamen - Yantian - Ningbo - Shanghai - Busan - Seattle - Vancouver - Portland - Busan
2. Pearl - Added calls in Vung Tau and Haiphong, Vietnam
3. Chinook - Added calls in Vung Tau and Haiphong, Vietnam
4. Lone Star - Added westbound call in Busan
5. Orient - Added westbound call in Busan

New & revised services

Africa↔North Europe

In December, MSC revised the port rotation of the NWC-MAROCCO service by adding port calls at Pointe Noir and Luanda.

• Carrier service name: NWC-MOROCCO-WAFSERVICE
• Port rotation: Rotterdam - Antwerp - Le Havre - Casablanca - Las Palmas - Dakar - Conakry - Lome - Pointe Noire - Luanda - Rotterdam.
• First sailing: MSC Suez, ATD Rotterdam, 1 December.

Starting in early January 2025, MSC will launch its Eastern Cape Express Service from Gqeberha(Port Elizabeth), South Africa, directly to Northern Europe ports.

• Carrier service name: Eastern Cape Express Service
• Port rotation: Gqeberha(Port Elizabeth) - Walvis Bay - Rotterdam - London Gateway - Antwerp - Gqeberha(Port Elizabeth)
• First sailing: Nederland III, ETD Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), 3 January 2025.

From January 2025, Hapag-Lloyd will return to Hamburg (CTA) instead of Wilhelmshaven on its Indian Ocean Service.

• Carrier service name: IOS(Indian Ocean Service)
• Port rotation: Jebel Ali - Karachi - Nhava Sheva - Mundra - Tanger - Rotterdam - Hamburg - Antwerp - London Gateway - Tanger - Jebel Ali.
• First sailing: Vung Tau Express V.4349W, ETA Hamburg 23 January 2025.

Asia↔Africa

From 11 January 2025, MSC will call Cape Town instead of Coega on its India-Africa Service, allowing Cape Town reefer cargo direct access to the Middle East.

• Carrier service name: IAS - India Africa Service
• Port rotation: Jebel Ali - Abu Dhabi - Sohar - Mundra - Nhava Sheva - Colombo - Lome - Cotonou - Abidjan - Tema - Cape Town - Jebel Ali.
• First sailing: MSC CANCUN voyage number IW452R, calling Cape Town on 11 January 2025

Asia↔Oceania

From 18 December 2024, MSC's Koala service will call Adelaide directly, connecting the port to China and Indonesia.

• Carrier service name: Koala
• Port rotation: Shanghai - Hong Kong - Jakarta - Fremantle - Adelaide - Shanghai.
• First sailing: MSC SIJING FP451A, ETD Shanghai on 18 December 2024.

North America↔South America

In early December, MSC revised the port rotation of the South American East Coast service by replacing the port call at Freeport with a port call at Caucedo.

• Carrier service name: USA TO SAEC (STRING 1)
• Port rotation: New York - Norfolk - Baltimore - Charleston - Savannah - Port Everglades - Caucedo - Cristobal - Santos - Buenos Aires - Montevideo - Rio Grande - Itajai - Paranagua - Santos - Rio de Janeiro - Salvador - Cristobal - Freeport - New York.
• First sailing: BF Hamburg, ATD Kingston, 1 December 2024

Intra South America

As of the end of November 2024, CMA CGM revised the port rotation of its shuttle service between Jamaica and Trinidad to Suriname and Guyanas by dropping the port call at Caucedo and adding a port call at Philipsburg.

• Carrier service name: Eldorado
• Port rotation: Kingston - Philipsburg - Castries - Bridgetown - Port of Spain - Georgetown - Paramaribo - Kingston.
• First sailing: Asturiano III, ATD Kingston on 23 November

For more point-to-point service options, including transit times across major ocean carriers, refer to seaexplorer.