Changes of Schedules on Four Continents
After the recent news that CMA CGM and MSC will be working more closely together to maximise efficiency of freight services the two giant container shipping lines have confirmed adjustments to their schedules whilst Maersk, Hamburg Süd, CSAV and CSCL have also seen Winter season restructuring.
In an effort to balance supply and demand during the forthcoming traditional period of weaker demand, Hamburg Süd and Maersk Line on the one hand and CMA-CGM, CSAV and CSCL on the other, have reached an agreement to adjust their services between Asia, South Africa and the East Coast of South America as from this month until next May.
Each Group is currently operating two weekly services in the trade. For the period from December 2011 through May 2012, the existing ASAS/NGX Sling 2 service will be merged with the existing ASAX/SEAS Sling 2 service. The current capacity deployed by the carriers in the ASAS/NGX Sling 1 service (Maersk and Hamburg Süd ) and ASAX/SEAS Sling 1 service (CMA CGM, CSAV, CSCL) will remain unchanged and independent. This means the ASAX/SEAS 1 which currently utilises eleven 6,500 TEU vessels will now have the same number of smaller ships each between 4,200 and 4,600 capacity. Starting vessel for this New Joint Service will be MV Cap Jackson – Shanghai – December 16th and the rotation is :
Shanghai – Ningbo – Nansha – Hong Kong – Chiwan – Tanjung Pelepas – Singapore – Durban – Rio de Janeiro – Santos – Paranagua – Itajai – Santos – Port Elizabeth – Durban – Singapore – Hong Kong – Shanghai
Meanwhile the CMA CGM and MSC agreement means that from April 2012 the Asia-North Europe services (French Asia Line or FAL routes) will vary as follows.
FAL 1: operated by CMA CGM with 11 vessels of 13,800 – 14,000TEU. Port rotation:Ningbo, Shanghai, Nansha, Hong Kong, Chiwan, Yantian, Vung Tau, Southampton, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Zeebrugge, Le Havre, Malta, Korfakkan, Port Kelang, Singapore, Yantian, Ningbo.
FAL 2: this service remains unchanged.
FAL 3: operated by CMA CGM with 11 vessels of 11,400 TEU. Port Rotation: Xingang, Pusan, Qingdao, Shanghai, Xiamen, Singapore, Port Kelang, Tangiers, Le Havre, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Beirut, Jeddah, Port Kelang, Singapore, Xingang.
FAL 6: operated by MSC with 11 vessels of 14,000 TEU. Port Rotation:Dalian, Xingang, Kwang Yang, Pusan, Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai, Singapore, Port Kelang, Felixstowe, Zeebrugge, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Southampton, Valencia, Jebel Ali, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dalian.
FAL 7: operated by MSC with 11 vessels of 14,000 TEU. Port rotation: Ningbo, Shanghai, Xiamen, Chiwan, Yantian, Sines, Le Havre, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Felixstowe, Gioia Tauro, Singapore, Chiwan, Xiamen, Ningbo.
The existing agreement with Maersk Line on the Asia-Med trade will remain unchanged and final port coverage and transit times will be confirmed at a later stage as will any news regarding further rationalisation to the other FAL services.
Both MSC and CMA CGM have been at pains to stress that there new cooperation should not be viewed as any form of amalgamation with no staff being affected and no sharing of facilities. Such a move would undoubtedly set alarm bells ringing in the offices of anti trust authorities particularly those of the EU’s Competition Commissioner
Source: Handy Shipping Guide
