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.

New & updated services on main trade lanes

Asia <-> Africa 

CMA CGM updated the ASEA KENYA service. Starting on 9 October, this service will offer a direct weekly call at Qingdao and a faster transit time from North China to Kenya. The carrier announced the revised service will have the following rotation: Qingdao – Shanghai – Ningbo – Nansha – Singapore – Port Klang – Mombasa – Singapore – Qingdao.

Asia <-> Indian Subcontinent

ONE and Unifeeder revised the port rotation of the MIM service, connecting the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East to East Africa. The Port of Nhava Sheva will be added to the service, which deploys an average vessel capacity of 1,650 TEU. The following is the revised rotation: Jebel Ali – Mundra – Nhava Sheva – Mombasa – Maputo – Beira – Jebel Ali.

Asia <-> North America

As of this month, THE Alliance will suspend the PN3 service, which connects Asia to North America West Coast. In addition, the alliance is revising the PN2 service by adding port calls at Yangshan, Busan, Kaohsiung and Hong Kong.

• PN3: This service was terminated last month. The last vessel was the Seaspan Yangtze, which departed from Hong Kong on 24 September.
• PN2: THE Alliance will revise the port rotation of this service as follows: Singapore – Laem Chabang – Cai Mep – Haiphong – Yantian – Yangshan – Busan – Vancouver – Tacoma – Tokyo – Kobe – Kaohsiung – Hong Kong – Singapore. 

According to Sea Intelligence data, there are eight vessels deployed on the service, with an average vessel capacity of 11,500 TEU. The first vessel ONE Magdalena is due to depart on 15 October from Singapore. 

Intra-Asia

A new intra-Asia service titled KCI will be launched this month by multiple carriers, including ONE. Four vessels will be deployed on the service, with an average vessel capacity of 2,600 TEU. Here is the port rotation: Busan – Qingdao – Shanghai – Ningbo – Jakarta – Surabaya – Shekou – Xiamen – Busan.

Also for intra-Asia, the JTS service operated by Yang Ming dropped the port call at Hong Kong, and added port calls at Kobe, Osaka, Nansha and Penang. The service has an average vessel capacity of 2,950 TEU, and the new port rotation will be as follows: Xiamen – Kobe – Osaka – Nagoya – Tokyo – Chiba – Yokohama – Keelung – Kaohsiung – Hong Kong – Shekou – Nansha – Port Klang – Penang – Singapore – Kaohsiung – Nansha – Shekou – Xiamen.

Evergreen revised the port rotation of the CTX service, which connects Northeast Asia to Southeast Asia, to the following: Shanghai – Ningbo – Hong Kong – Sihanoukville – Laem Chabang – Kaohsiung – Shekou – Shanghai. Four vessels with an average vessel capacity of 1,800 TEU will be deployed to this service.

Intra-Indian Subcontinent

Maersk terminated the intra-Indian Subcontinent service titled Jade Express. The service deploys two vessels, with an average vessel capacity of 2,600 TEU. The port rotation of the service is: Colombo – Karachi – Mundra – Pipavav – Colombo.

Mediterranean/Black Sea <-> Africa

Last month, Maersk’s WAF1 service was revised by dropping the port call at Port Elizabeth. WAF1 deploys five vessels with an average vessel capacity of 4,500 TEU. The revised port rotation is: Luanda – Tangier – Algeciras – Pointe Noire – Luanda.

Mediterranean/Black Sea <-> North Europe

The SLB North Sea service operated by Maersk received a new port rotation, with a new port call at Iskenderun. Maersk deploys five vessels on the service, with an average vessel capacity of 4,000 TEU. The new rotation is: Ashdod – Haifa – Alexandria – Iskenderun – Port Said – London Gateway – Rotterdam – Antwerp – Bremerhaven – Ashdod.

In addition, Hapag-Lloyd announced revising its South East India – Europe Express (IEX). The port of Chennai will be replaced by Kattupalli Port in the first week of December. Following is the planned rotation: Rotterdam - London – Hamburg – Antwerp - Le Havre – Damietta – Jeddah – Colombo – Visakhaptnam – Krishnapatam – Kattupalli – Cochin – Damietta – Piraeus – Rotterdam.

More in carrier news…

Decarbonisation was the highlight of the carriers’ news headlines. With the EU carbon taxation rules fast approaching for the sector, major names in the container shipping business have stepped up their sustainability game.

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have started providing indications for their new Emission Trading System (ETS) surcharges, while other liners seek to reduce the carbon footprint at sea.

In a joint statement, CMA CGM and Maersk announced setting a net-zero target for their shipping business by means of developing the use of alternative greener fuels for container vessel propulsion and engaging with regulatory stakeholders to secure the decarbonization of the sector.

Maersk is also working with Canadian shipowning giant Seaspan on a design project to establish the first large ammonia-fuelled container ship. In cooperation with the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, the project plans to design a 15,000 TEU neo-panamax dual-fuel ship.

In the meantime, China’s COSCO seeks to establish a chain of production facilities for green methanol. According to Shipping Watch, a project for this purpose was launched this month and will be carried out in partnership with Shanghai Port.

COSCO has also joined forces with CMA CGM, Maersk, and ONE for the establishment of a transpacific green corridor. The partnership includes the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Shanghai.