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. Additionally, we seek to provide a brief outlook of the capacities available for the next two calendar weeks on key trade lanes.

New & updated services on main trade lanes

Africa <-> Mediterranean/Black Sea

French liner CMA CGM launched a new service on 11 June titled BIJAGOS. With two vessels deployed, the average capacity of this service is 1,700 TEU. The following is the port rotation: Algeciras – Tangier – Dakar – Bissau – Algeciras.

Asia <-> Indian Sub-Continent

On 18 July, the Evergreen/RCL service CIX4 will be launched to connect Asia with the Indian Sub-Continent. The carriers will deploy six vessels with an average capacity of 4,200 TEU. The port rotation is: Shanghai – Ningbo – Shekou – Singapore – Port Klang – Nhava Sheva – Mundra – Karachi – Port Klang – Singapore – Haiphong – Shanghai.

According to India Shipping News, a similar service was also launched by Wan Hai, Hapag-Lloyd and Evergreen under the title CIX, connecting India to Far East Asia. This weekly service has the following port rotation: Pipavav – Nhava Sheva – Kelang – Singapore – Kaohsiung – Hong Kong – Shekou.

Asia <-> Mediterranean/Black Sea

South Korea’s container carrier HMM will deploy 12 ships in a new service to be launched in August under the name FIM. The average vessel capacity and the name of the first ship are yet to be announced. However, the rotation is set to be: Busan – Kwangyang – Yangshan – Ningbo – Shekou – Singapore – Port Klang – Kattupalli – Nhava Sheva – Mundra – Karachi – Jeddah – Damietta – Piraeus – Genoa – Valencia – Barcelona – Piraeus – Damietta – Jeddah – Karachi – Mundra – Nhava Sheva – Kattupali – Singapore – Da Chan Bay – Busan.

Starting 1 July, CMA CGM will introduce a new service called TLX, connecting China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Sea Intelligence reports that nine vessels will be deployed for the service with an average vessel capacity of 4,000 TEU. The port rotation of the service will be: Shanghai – Ningbo – Nansha – Singapore – Jeddah – Iskenderun – Marsaxlokk – Misurata – Jeddah – Port Klang – Shanghai.

The 2M Alliance revised its AE12/Phoenix service this month. The service, which deploys 12 ships with an average capacity of 15,000 TEU, will start calling Jedda as part of its journey. The revised rotation is: Tianjin Xingang – Dalian – Busan – Ningbo – Shanghai – Shekou – Singapore – Port Said – Haifa – Koper – Trieste – Rijeka – Port Said – King Abdullah Port – Jeddah – Singapore – Tianjin Xingang.

Additionally, MSC is planning to adjust the port rotation of its India to West Med service starting with the vessel MSC LEO V. The carrier announced the revised rotation as follows: Jebel Ali – Abu Dhabi – Karachi – Nhava – Mundra – Djibouti – King Abdullah – Gioia Tauro – Valencia – Barcelona – Genoa – Livorno – Salerno – Gioia – Malta – King Abdullah – Jeddah – Jebel Ali.

Asia <-> North America

Largest container carrier in the world MSC announced changing the port rotation of its Chinook service as of week 28. The new rotation will be effective from the sailing of vessel MSC DAMNA, announced the carrier, beginning in Yantian on 15 July 2023. The new rotation will be: Yantian – Shanghai – Qingdao – Busan – Vancouver – Seattle – Portland.

In addition, the liner is revising its Santana service to the following rotation: Haiphong – Shanghai – Ningbo – Busan – Manzanillo – Cristobal – Caucedo – Port Everglades – Baltimore. The first on this rotation is the MSC VILDA X.

Asia <-> North Europe

The 2M Alliance announced it would revise the port rotations of its AE7/Condor and the AE55/Griffin services. The following are details of the changes:

• AE7/Condor: According to Sea Intelligence, a port call at Jeddah will be added to the service, which deploys 12 vessels with an average vessel capacity of 18,000 TEU. The revised port rotation will be: Ningbo – Shanghai – Nansha – Yantian – Tanjung Pelepas – Colombo – Tangier – Hamburg – Antwerp – Le Havre – Felixstowe – London Gateway – Jeddah – Salalah – Abu Dhabi – Jebel Ali – Ningbo.
• AE55/Griffin: The alliance is adding port calls at Xiamen, King Abdullah Port, Salalah and Tangier and increasing the number of vessels to 13. The average vessel capacity of the vessels is 12,000 TEU. The new rotation is: Shanghai – Ningbo – Xiamen – Tanjung Pelepas – Felixstowe – Rotterdam – Le Havre – Tangier – Algeciras – King Abdullah Port – Salalah – Singapore – Shanghai.

Intra-Asia

CMA CGM’s subsidiary, CNC, is revising its South China-Philippines service CP2 and introducing a new one as follows:

• CP2: starting 20 June, this service's rotation became: Nansha - Hong Kong - Shekou - Batangas - General Santos - Davao - Nansha.
• CP3: This new service starts on 30 June and will have the following rotation: Shekou - Hong Kong - Subic Bay - Cebu - Cagayan de Oro - Kaohsiung - Shekou.

As of 6 July, ONE/PIL/TS Lines/Namsung will launch a new service titled KC2/KCS, connecting Northeast Asia to Southeast Asia. Four vessels will be used for this service, with an average vessel capacity of 2,500 TEU. The port rotation of the first vessel, TS Vancouver, will be: Busan – Kwangyang – Shanghai – Shekou – Singapore – Port Klang – Penang – Singapore – Ho Chi Minh City – Nansha – Busan.

Maersk is launching a new service IA-10 on this route starting 16 July. The first vessel to call Taichung is the MCC Andalas, departing Taichung on 16 July. The port rotation will be: Taichung -Xiamen - Hong Kong – Shekou – Sihanoukville – Bangkok - Laem Chabang - Ho Chi Minh City - Batangas, Luzon - Manila North Harbour - Taichung.

Mediterranean/Black Sea <-> North Europe

Container ship CMA CGM Alcazar will start a new port rotation on 2 July under the revised service NCLEVANT/NEX operated by CMA CGM and ONE. The carriers will also increase the number of deployed vessels on the service from five to six, with an average vessel capacity of 4,250 TEU. The following is the new rotation: Mersin – Salerno – Tangier – Felixstowe – Hamburg – Rotterdam – Antwerp – Le Havre – Marsaxlokk – Alexandria – Port Said – Beirut – Iskenderun – Mersin.

North America <-> Indian Sub-Continent 

The Shaheen Express service operated by Maersk and GFS will drop the port call at Dammam and add a port call at Sohar starting this month. The service deploys two vessels deployed on the service, with an average vessel capacity of 2,800 TEU. The following is the revised rotation: Mundra – Pipavav – Jebel Ali – Sohar – Jebel Ali – Mundra.

North Europe <-> South America

Effective 24 August, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and COSCO will reinstate Le Havre Port to the EUROSAL/SWX/EWX service and increase the number of deployed vessels on the service from nine to ten. The first vessel will be the Guayaquil Express. It will have the following port rotation: Rotterdam – London Gateway – Hamburg – Antwerp – Le Havre – Caucedo – Cartagena (Colombia) – Manzanillo (Panama) – Buenaventura – Posorja – Callao – San Antonio – Rotterdam.

Trade capacity outlook (weeks 26 - 29)

When we compare the container capacity made available by carriers and alliances on main trades in the next 12 weeks to the capacity made available last year during the same period, we notice a growth on most lanes. The trade with the highest year-on-year growth is the trans-Atlantic, namely the Mediterranean – North America East Coast route at 45.1%. Similarly, with 41% year-on-year growth for the same period, the Asia – Mediterranean trade comes in second. The following illustrates the development of available capacity on both the eastbound and westbound of specific trades.

In this update, we review the development in total weekly capacities available on Asia <-> North America West Coast during calendar weeks 26 to 29. The data provided by Sea Intelligence mainly shows the capacities made available by the three major alliances.

The eastbound leg of this route will witness constant growth over the next three weeks, starting with nearly 265,000 TEU in week 26 and growing to about 315,000 TEU in week 29.

As for the westbound leg, the capacity will fluctuate between approximately 360,000 TEU in week 26 and nearly 295,000 TEU in week 29.

More in carrier news…

One of Europe’s leading asset managers, Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), took an interesting step this week against COSCO, the world's fourth-largest container carrier, in favour of climate change priorities. LGIM decided to remove COSCO, and other companies, from their asset management portfolio, claiming they do not meet climate requirements. However, the news from ShippingWatch mentions, "The Chinese shipping company is in the process of a major fleet upgrade, which means that a series of new ships will be able to run on alternative fuels."

In contrast, South Korean liner HMM has seen interest from companies to buy some of its shares. Korea Development Bank and Korean Ocean Business Corporation - two of the current shareowners - stated a deal could be signed soon that could lead to divesting stakes to interested investors.

The mood for fleet investment has been high this month among carriers. Maersk, MSC and Evergreen are all in the market for new ships. But the biggest news comes from CMA CGM. According to TradeWinds, the French carrier ordered not one but a dozen dual-fuel 24,000 TEU newbuilds from Singapore-based Yangzijiang Shipbuilding. The news report adds that these containers will be able to sail powered by conventional fuel or methanol.

On the other hand, ONE has an appetite for port investment. The Japanese liner increased its share in International Transportation Inc. (ITI), which operated container terminals in Los Angeles and Oakland, as reported by Mundo Maritimo. ONE’s stake increased from 51% to 77.8%, expanding the carrier’s access to key US maritime hubs.