Maersk Line adjusts Mediterranean-Middle East loops

The Danish ocean carrier will alter its ME2 and ME3 loops between the Mediterranean and the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent this month.    Maersk Line will adjust its ME2 loop between the Mediterranean and the Middle East and its ME3 loop between the Mediterranean, Middle East and Indian Subcontinent this month, the carrier said in a statement.
   The revised ME2 will have a rotation of Port Said, Marsaxlokk, Tangier, Algeciras, Valencia, Barcelona, Genoa, Port Said, Jeddah, Salalah, Jebel Ali, Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Jubail, Jebel Ali, Salalah, Jeddah, Aqaba and Port Said.
   Effective Oct. 4, the first vessel to cover the loop’s new rotation will be the Maersk Taikung departing from Dammam.
   According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, the ME2 has a current rotation of Marsaxlokk, Tangier, Algeciras, Valencia, Barcelona, Genoa, Port Said, Jeddah, Salalah, Jebel Ali, Dammam, Jubail, Abu Dhabi, Jebel Ali, Salalah, Jeddah, Aqaba, Port Said and Marsaxlokk. Maersk Line provides all seven vessels on the loop, which have an average capacity of 8,451 TEUs. Safmarine, the Danish carrier’s subsidiary line, purchases slots on the ME2.
   The revised ME3 will have a rotation of Novorossiysk, Ambarli, Izmit, Izmir, Mersin, Iskenderun, Port Said, Jeddah, Salalah, Jebel Ali, Pipavav, Hazira, Mumbai (Nhava Sheva) and Novorossiysk, according to Maersk.
   Effective Oct. 24, the first vessel to cover the loop’s new rotation will be the Maersk Euphrates departing from Novorossiysk.
   The ME3 has a current rotation of Novorossiysk, Ambarli, Izmit, Izmir, Mersin, Iskenderun, Jeddah, Jebel Ali, Pipavav, Hazira, Mumbai (Nhava Sheva), Jebel Ali, Salalah, Damietta, Mersin, Ambarli, Izmit and Novorossiysk. Maersk Line provides all eight vessels on the loop, which have an average capacity of 5,544 TEUs, with Safmarine as a slot purchaser, according to BlueWater Reporting.
   In addition to the ME2 and ME3, the GEM loop, jointly operated by CMA CGM, UASC, and CSCL, is the only other service dedicated to trade between the Mediterranean and the Middle East/Indian Subcontinent.
   The GEM, which strictly operates between the Mediterranean and the Middle East, has a rotation of Bahrain, Jubail, Jebel Ali, Khor Fakkan, Jeddah, Yanbu, Port Said, Mersin, Izmit, Ambarli, Aliaga, Port Said, Jeddah, Sohar, Khor Fakkan and Bahrain. CMA CGM’s subsidiary line’s ANL and Delmas purchase slots on the loop, which operates with six vessels with an average capacity of 6,495 TEUs, according to BlueWater Reporting.
   CMA CGM, UASC and CSCL are members of the Ocean3 Alliance, though alliances only officially cooperate on the three major east-west trades: Asia-Europe, transpacific and transatlantic. 
   Revision: Maersk issued a revision to its ME2 and ME3 services Oct. 6.
   For the ME2, the new rotation is actually Port Said, Marsaxlokk, Tangier, Algeciras, Valencia, Barcelona, Genoa, Port Said, Jeddah, Salalah, Jebel Ali, Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Jubail, Jebel Ali, Salalah, Jeddah, Aqaba and Port Said.
   The ME2’s new rotation still took effect with the Oct. 4 sailing of the Maersk Taikung from Dammam.
   For the ME3, the new rotation will actually be  Novorossiysk, Ambarli, Izmit, Izmir, Mersin, Iskenderun, Port Said, Jeddah, Salalah, Jebel Ali, Pipavav, Hazira, Mumbai (Nhava Sheva), Jebel Ali, Salalah, Damietta, Mersin, Ambarli, Izmit and Novorossiysk.
   The ME3’s new rotation is still scheduled to take effect with the Oct. 24 sailing of the Maersk Euphrates from Novorossiysk.