OCEAN Alliance adds five feeder calls to the Mediterranean

The east-west ocean carrier vessel sharing agreement comprising COSCO Shipping, CMA CGM, APL, OOCL and Evergreen Line will add five Mediterranean transshipment calls to its MX1 and MX2 services, according to a statement from CMA CGM subsidiary APL.    The OCEAN Alliance, the east-west ocean carrier vessel sharing agreement comprising COSCO Shipping, CMA CGM, APL, OOCL and Evergreen Line, will add five Mediterranean transshipment calls to its Mediterranean Express 1 (MX1) and Mediterranean Express 1 (MX2) services, according to a statement from CMA CGM subsidiary APL.
   All five port calls will be utilized as transshipment ports, serviced by feeders from the main ports of call on the MX1 and MX2 services.
   The Greek ports of Durres, Albania and Thessaloniki, will be added to the MX1 service, which is operated with CMA CGM and OOCL vessels under the OCEAN Alliance banner. According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, the port rotation for the MX1 is Qingdao, Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Nansha, Yantian, Singapore, Malta (Marsaxlokk), Valencia, Barcelona, Marseilles-Fos, Genoa, Malta (Marsaxlokk), Beirut, Jeddah, Dubai Jebel Ali, Port Kelang, Xiamen and back to Qingdao. Cargo will be transshipped to Durres and Thessaloniki from Malta. 
   In addition, calls to the ports of Novorossiysk, Russia – along the Black Sea – and Poti, Georgia will be added to the MX2 loop, which is operated with Evergreen and COSCO ships. The port rotation for the MX2 is Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Yantian, Singapore, Piraeus, La Spezia, Genoa, Marseilles-Fos, Valencia, Piraeus, Jeddah, Colombo, Singapore, Hong Kong and back to Qingdao. Shipments in the MX2 service will be transshipped to Novorossiysk and Poti from Piraeus.
   All five port calls will be utilized as transshipment ports, serviced by feeders from the main ports of call on the MX1 and MX2 services.
   “The extended network of the MX1 and MX2 services demonstrates APL’s emphasis on providing a comprehensive global connectivity. North Asian shippers with an interest to penetrate the European markets of Albania, Greece, Russia and Georgia can now rely on the enhanced MX1 and MX2 services for market access,” the ocean carrier stated.