Our bi-weekly carrier update brings you the latest news about the new and updated sea freight services our top carriers offer on main trade routes. It also covers relevant activities the carriers announced in the past two weeks.

Please note that changes to the services below are expected due to developments in the Red Sea.

New & updated services on main trade lanes

Asia <-> Indian Subcontinent

CMA CGM and COSCO launched the AS2 service on 3 December to connect Asia to the Indian Subcontinent. The carriers announced that they will deploy five vessels with an average vessel capacity of 5,000 TEU.

APL Minnesota was the first ship to start on this service with the following rotation: Shanghai – Ningbo – Shekou – Singapore – Colombo – Mundra – Nhava Sheva – Singapore – Shanghai.

Asia <-> Mediterranean/Black Sea

In light of the situation in the Red Sea, container carrier ZIM is making changes to its Indian Sub-continent – East Mediterranean services. According to an advisory by the carrier, the carrier will serve the ISC ports of Mundra, Hazira, and Nhava Sheva via Colombo, connecting to our ZMP service.

The updated ZMP rotation will be: Pusan – Qingdao- Ningbo - Shanghai – Da Chan Bay-– Port Kelang – Colombo – Haifa – Ashdod- Mersin – Yarimca – Istanbul - Port Kelang– Da Chan Bay – Xiamen – Pusan.

Furthermore, according to an advisory from Kuehne+Nagel Israel (Hebrew), MSC has cancelled the port call in Ashdod from its Dragon service, and the cargo destined for Israel will instead be unloaded in Port Said. The cargo will then be carried as part of MSC's Phoenix service.

Asia <-> North America

Swiss-based carrier MSC is revising the Sentosa Shikra service, connecting Asia, North America and the Indian Subcontinent. As of 22 December, the carrier will add a port call at Karachi. The average vessel capacity on the service is 14,000 TEU.

The first vessel on the revised rotation will be MSC Altair and will take the following journey: Busan – Qingdao – Shanghai – Ningbo – Shekou – Singapore – Colombo – Mundra – Karachi – Nhava Sheva – Colombo – Port Klang – Singapore – Laem Chabang – Vung Tau – Busan – Los Angeles – Oakland – Busan.

In addition, THE Alliance will revise the port rotation of the EC2 and EC6 Transpacific services by adding port calls at Manzanillo and Rodman, respectively. Following are the details of the changes:

• EC2: this service connects Asia to the North American East Coast. Effective April 2024, THE Alliance will add a port call at Manzanillo (Mexico). The average vessel capacity on the service will be 13,300 TEU, while the number of vessels is still not revealed. The rotation of the EC2 is: Qingdao – Ningbo – Shanghai – Busan – Manzanillo (Mexico) – Cartagena (Colombia) – Savannah – Charleston – Wilmington – Norfolk – Cartagena (Colombia) – Busan – Qingdao.

• EC6: THE Alliance will add a port call at Rodman as of April next year. While the number of vessels for this service is still unknown, the average vessel capacity will be 7,500 TEU. The port rotation is: Kaohsiung – Hong Kong – Yantian – Ningbo – Shanghai – Busan – Houston – Mobile – Rodman – Kaohsiung.

Asia <-> North Europe

Also, in April 2024, THE Alliance intends to revise the port rotation of their Asia-Europe services. Following is a detailed list of all the services the alliances intend to revise:

• FP1: This service will add a port call at Damietta. THE Alliance is yet to reveal the number of vessels on this service, which will have an average vessel capacity of 8,700 TEU. The revised rotation will be: Tokyo – Shimizu – Kobe – Nagoya – Tokyo – Singapore – Damietta – Rotterdam – Hamburg – Le Havre – Singapore – Kobe – Nagoya – Tokyo – Los Angeles – Oakland – Tokyo.

• FE2: Two port calls at Algeciras and Jeddah will be added to this service in April. The average vessel capacity on the service will be 19,500 TEU, and the port rotation would be: Busan – Shanghai – Ningbo – Nansha – Yantian – Singapore – Tangier – Southampton – Le Havre – Wilhelmshaven – Rotterdam – Algeciras – Jeddah – Singapore – Busan.

• FE3: THE Alliance will revise the port rotation of this service in April by adding a port call at Cai Mep and dropping the port call at Algeciras. The number of vessels on this service is yet to be announced; however, the average vessel capacity will be 23,000 TEU. The revised port rotation of the FE3 is as follows: Ningbo – Xiamen – Kaohsiung – Yantian – Cai Mep – Singapore – Rotterdam – Hamburg – Antwerp – Southampton – Singapore – Yantian – Hong Kong – Kaohsiung – Ningbo.

• FE4: Also, in April 2024, THE Alliance will revise this service, adding port calls at Colombo and London Gateway. The average vessel capacity on the service will be 23,800 TEU. Following is the revised rotation: Tianjin Xingang – Qingdao – Busan – Shanghai – Yantian – Colombo – Algeciras – Rotterdam – Hamburg – Antwerp – London Gateway – Tangier – Singapore – Tianjin Xingang.

• MD1: This is a service connecting Asia and the Mediterranean. Effective April 2024, THE Alliance will add a port call at Algeciras and drop the port call at Genoa. The average vessel capacity on the service will be 14,500 TEU. The port rotation of this service is: Qingdao – Busan – Shanghai – Ningbo – Shekou – Singapore – Jeddah – Damietta – Barcelona – Valencia – Algeciras – Damietta – Jeddah – Singapore – Hong Kong – Qingdao.

• MD2: Like the MD1, this service connects Asia to the Mediterranean. Effective April 2024, THE Alliance will revise the port rotation by adding a second eastbound port call at Genoa and dropping the port call at Barcelona. Following is the port rotation: Busan – Shanghai – Ningbo – Kaohsiung – Shekou – Singapore – Piraeus – Genoa – La Spezia – Fos Sur Mer – Genoa – Piraeus – Singapore – Hong Kong – Busan.

• MD3: Starting in April 2024, this service will add two port calls at Ashdod. The service will have an average vessel capacity of 13,900 TEU. The revised port rotation is: Busan – Ningbo – Shanghai – Shekou – Singapore – Jeddah – Ashdod – Istanbul – Izmit – Aliaga – Mersin – Ashdod – Jeddah – Singapore – Kaohsiung – Busan.

Asia <-> South America

Carriers Hapag-Lloyd, HMM, MSC and ONE will revise the port rotation of the TPM/NW3/Aztec/AX3 service. The service will add a second, Westbound port call at Ensenada.

The service will deploy an average vessel capacity of 9,500 TEU and will have the following port rotation: Manzanillo (Mexico) – Ensenada – Yokohama – Busan – Ningbo – Shanghai – Qingdao – Busan – Yokohama – Ensenada – Manzanillo (Mexico).

Indian Subcontinent <-> North America

In May 2024, ONE will launch a new service connecting the Indian Subcontinent to North America's East Coast via the Mediterranean.

Nine vessels will be deployed on the service, which will have the following rotation: Port Qasim – Hazira – Nhava Sheva – Mundra – Damietta – Algeciras – New York – Savannah – Jacksonville – Charleston – Norfolk – Damietta – Jeddah – Port Qasim.

Intra-Asia

As of 13 January 2024, ONE will revise the port rotation of the JSM service. The service will drop two port calls at Singapore.

According to Sea Intelligence, there will be four vessels deployed on the service, with an average vessel capacity of 4,400 TEU.

The port rotation is: Yokohama – Tokyo – Shimizu – Nagoya – Kobe – Keelung – Hong Kong – Port Klang – Singapore – Cai Mep – Yokohama.

Middle East <-> Africa

Maersk and CMA CGM will temporarily revise the port rotation of the MIDAS1/Mesawa service, which connects the Middle East to West Africa, by dropping the port call at Durban.

There will be ten vessels deployed on the service, with an average vessel capacity of 5,000 TEU.

The revised rotation is: Jebel Ali – Mundra – Pointe Noire – Tema – Apapa – Cape Town – Jebel Ali.

North America <-> North Europe

Next month, THE Alliance will revise the port rotation of the AL4 service by adding a port call at Wilhelmshaven. Six vessels will be deployed on the service, with an average vessel capacity of 6,000 TEU.

The revised port rotation will be: Le Havre – London Gateway – Antwerp – Hamburg – Wilhelmshaven – Veracruz – Altamira – Houston – Le Havre.

Dimitra C will be the first vessel on the revised rotation. The ship is due to depart from Le Havre on 5 January.

Also, starting on 5 January 2024, CMA CGM, COSCO, OOCL, and ONE will revise the port rotation of the EMA/TUX service.

The service will replace the port call at Izmit with a port call at Iskenderun. Six vessels are set to be deployed on the service, with an average vessel capacity of 4,400 TEU.

Port rotation is: Algeciras – Iskenderun – Aliaga – Ambarli – Piraeus – Savona – La Spezia – Algeciras – New York – Norfolk – Savannah – Algeciras.

More in carrier news…

The past week was troubling for carriers after several attacks were launched against container ships in the Red Sea.

Forces belonging to Yemen’s Houthis targeted multiple ships in the past few days, including boxships belonging to Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and MSC.

The attacks prompted carriers Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, HMM and MSC to pause passage in the Red Sea. Several vessels will drop their calls in Middle Eastern ports and take an alternative route via the Cape of Good Hope.

Other carriers, namely COSCO, OOCL and Evergreen, will temporarily suspend Israel's import and export services due to the increased risk.

Kuehne+Nagel is monitoring this developing situation closely and working to minimise delay to your cargo. Our Kuehne+Nagel advisory details our efforts to support customers with affected shipments.

For further assistance, please get in touch with your local Kuehne+Nagel representative.