New / upgraded ocean services

CMA CGM has upgraded its EPIC service between India, Pakistan, the Middle East and North Europe (five ports served directly), reducing transit times to the eastern Mediterranean.

Effective March 30th, a new westbound call at Port Said will cut transit times by four days to Lattakia (Syria) and Istanbul (Turkey), by six days to Mersin (Turkey) and by seven days to Beirut (Lebanon),

The Salalah call will be replaced by by Khor Fakkan, to liaise with the MASCAREIGNES line serving the Indian Ocean.

The service will deploy eight 5,700 TEU vessels calling at: Southampton > Rotterdam > Hamburg > Antwerp > Le Havre > Port Said > Khor Fakkan > Jebel Ali > Port Qasim > Nhava Sheva > Mundra > Jeddah > Port Said > Malta > Tangiers > Southampton.

CMA CGM therefore offers multiple destinations from the Indian subcontinent to the Middle East and North Europe with calls at major transhipment ports in the Mediterranean:

• Tangiers for West Africa and Latin America
• Malta for the western Mediterranean
• Khor Fakkan for the Indian Ocean
• Port Said for the Adriatic Sea, Black Sea, Middle East (Syria, Lebanon, Egypt), Turkey and Greece

Evergreen Line launched a weekly Thailand – Malaysia – Indonesia (TMI) service on March 16th to enhance its Southeast Asia service network and replace the existing Indonesia – Malaysia (IS1) service.

The TMI service is an expansion of the previous IS1 service, extending its calls to Bangkok and Laem Chabang in Thailand.

The service deploys one existing 900 TEU containership plus an additional 820 TEU vessel, calling at: Bangkok > Laem Chabang > Port Klang > Tanjung Pelepas > Jakarta > Tanjung Pelepas > Bangkok.

Hanjin Shipping has received its first ore carrier – the 300,000 ton Hanjin Tubarao.

The Very Large Ore Carrier (VLOC) is under long-term contract with POSCO, and will be deployed in the transportation of iron ore from Brazil to Korea.

According to Young Min Kim, president & CEO of Hanjin Shipping, the new ore carrier is a milestone in the carrier’s efforts to develop its bulk business.