Some Maersk-Safmarine Horn sailings skip Sudan

Some Maersk-Safmarine Horn sailings skip Sudan    Maersk Line and subsidiary Safmarine have temporarily stopped calling Port Sudan on some of the sailings of their joint Horn of Africa service connecting Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, according to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data.
   A call to Port Sudan has been deleted every other week, meaning the service is, in essence, operating with two distinct rotations and transit times. The Port of Sudan call is being skipped due to port congestion, the carrier said.
   The sailings that call Port Sudan have a rotation of Tanjung Pelepas, Dubai, Djibouti, Jeddah, Port Sudan and Tanjung Pelepas, and are operated with three ships (all from Maersk), with an average capacity of 2,846 TEUs. The sailings omitting the call have a rotation of Tanjung Pelepas, Dubai, Djibouti, Jeddah and Tanjung Pelepas, and are operated with two ships (one from Maersk and one from Safmarine), averaging 2,684 TEUs.
   ComPair Data research shows Port of Sudan calls could be added back to all sailings in April. Transit times eastbound on the sailings with Port Sudan are much slower than on those without, as it takes the service 16 days to return to Tanjung Pelepas from Port Sudan, compared to nine days from Jeddah to Tanjung Pelepas on the loops without the Port Sudan call. ' Eric Johnson