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.

Transpacific routes suspended

Due to the uncertainty surrounding tariffs on US imports, specifically from China, carriers have adjusted their service offerings to accommodate for the drop in demand.

In an online announcement, ONE communicated that the Premier Alliance's PS5 service, originally scheduled to launch in May 2025, will be temporarily delayed until further notice. The service's planned port rotation was Qingdao - Ningbo - Los Angeles/Long Beach - Oakland - Kobe - Qingdao.

In addition, MSC has terminated its Orion service, which connected Asia to the North American West Coast. Seven vessels with an average capacity of 11,000 TEU were deployed on this service. The last vessel on the Orion was the Cape Kortia, which left Ningbo on 15 April, The port rotation was Ningbo - Shanghai - Busan - Long Beach - Oakland - Portland - Busan - Qingdao - Ningbo.

A smaller capacity service,ZX2, operated by ZIM was also terminated at the beginning of April. This service deployed seven vessels with an average vessel capacity of 5,100 TEU. The port rotation was Xiamen - Shanghai - Ningbo - Los Angeles - Xiamen. The last vessel on the service was the Mississippi, which departed Xiamen on 5 April.

New & revised services

Africa↔ Mediterranean

In May, Hapag-Lloyd will revise its WAX service to offer a direct service from Turkey to West Africa.

• Carrier service name: WAX
• Port rotation: Izmit - Gemlik - Istanbul - Casablanca - Tanger Med - Tema - Lome - Cotonou - Lagos - Onne - Casablanca - Tanger Med - Barcelona - Izmit
• First sailing: Ionikos, ETD Izmit, May 19

Asia↔Africa

Maersk and CMA CGM will revise their service between Asia and South Africa by adding Hong Kong in May. The details are as follows:

• Carrier service name: Safari (Maersk)/ SHAKA2 (CMA CGM)
• Port rotation: Tanjung Pelepas - Hong Kong - Shanghai - Ningbo - Shekou - Tanjung Pelepas - Port Louis - Durban - Port Louis - Tanjung Pelepas
• First sailing: CMA CGM Mekong, ETD Tanjung Pelepas 21 May

Asia↔Europe

In April, the Ocean Alliance revised the rotation on one of its Asia↔North Europe services by adding Nansha and removing Xiamen. Evergreen operates this service while the other carriers charter slots.

• Carrier service name: CES (Evergreen), FAL8 (CMA CGM), AEU9 (COSCO ), LL7 (OOCL)
• Port rotation: Tianjin Xingang - Ningbo - Shanghai - Nansha - Singapore - Colombo - Antwerp - Hamburg - Rotterdam - Port Klang - Tianjin Xingang
• First sailing: Ever Mass, ATD Tianjin Xingang, 11 April

Asia↔South and Central America

CMA CGM will adjust two services in May, serving Asia, South and Central America.

On the Mexico Express (M2X), a direct call at Buenaventura, Colombia, will be added. The carrier hopes this will maintain a high schedule reliability for Mexico's main ports and Buenaventura. In addition, the M2X will offer access to the west coast of Central America via transhipment at Buenaventura and Lazaro Cardenas, supported by their launched MAYA loops.

• Carrier service name: Mexico Express (M2X)
• Port rotation: Shekou - Ningbo - Shanghai - Tianjin - Qingdao - Busan - Manzanillo - Lazaro Cardenas - Buenaventura - Shekou
• First sailing: CC Adonis, ETD Shekou, 9 May

On the ACSA1 service, the West Coast South America rotation will be reversed (now operating South to North), and a call in San Antonio, Chile, will be added as the first port of call in South America, offering the fastest transit time to this major port.

• Carrier service name: Asia Central South America 1 (ACSA1)
• Port rotation: Busan - Shanghai - Ningbo - San Antonio - Chancay - Callao - Posorja - Yokohama - Busan
• First sailing: CMA CGM Legacy, ETD Busan, 14 May

In addition, CMA CGM will launch a new service between China, Mexico, and South America in May.

• Carrier service name: Mexico to Andes (M2A)
• Port rotation: Dalian - Ningbo - Shanghai - Qingdao - Ensenada - Manzanillo - Lazaro Cardenas - Buenaventura - Guayaquil - Chancay - Shanghai - Dalian
• First sailing: CSCL ASIA, ETD Dalian, 17 May

Maersk and ZIM will revise their NEOASAS/ASE service rotation by including a Qingdao call before Hong Kong and swapping Yantian and Hong Kong westbound call. Hapag-Lloyd slot charters on this service.

• Carrier service name: Neoasas (Maersk) / ASE (ZIM)/ ASE (Hapag/Lloyd)
• Port rotation: Singapore - Hong Kong - Qingdao - Shanghai - Ningbo - Yantian - Hong Kong - Singapore - Santos - Itapoa WB - Buenos Aires - Montevideo - Itapoa - Paranagua - Santos - Singapore
• First sailing: San Antonio Maersk, ETD Singapore 4 May

Intra Mediterranean

Maersk has revised its Mediterranean Sea service in April by dropping Fos sur Mer and swapping the calls in Barcelona and Valencia.

• Carrier service name: Mediterranean-Sea-C / SLN
• Port rotation: Casablanca - Algeciras - Port Tangier - Mersin - Haifa - Alexandria - Valencia - Barcelona - Casablanca
• Last sailing for Fos sure Mer: Maersk Narmada, ATD Fos sur Mer, 20 April

Intra South America

ONE will launch a new service between Brazil and Argentina in May as follows:

• Carrier service name: River Plate Express (RPX)
• Port rotation: Zarate - La Plata - Rio Grande - Zarate
• First sailing: Spirit of Dubai, ETD Zarate 9 May

Transatlantic

In May, CMA CGM will revise its transatlantic service, Unity Bridge, by adding a call in Southampton. Southampton will be the last call before sailing to the US, offering competitive transit times to Charleston and Savannah.

• Carrier service name: Unity Bridge
• Port rotation: Le Havre - Antwerp - Bremerhaven - Southampton - Charleston - Savannah - Le Havre
• First sailing: Brighton, ETD Southampton 14 May

Transpacific

In late April, ZIM will revise its ZEX service by adding a port call in Haiphong.

• Carrier service name: ZEX
• Port rotation: Cai Mep - Haiphong - Yantian - Los Angeles - Cai Mep
• First sailing: ZIM Falcon, ETD Cai Mep, 30 April

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

Stay ahead with the latest updates! Subscribe to our SeaNews newsletter for the most relevant information.