MSC, ZIM restructure East Med-North Europe services

Ocean carriers Mediterranean Shipping Co. and ZIM announced changes to two loops between the East Mediterranean and North Europe.    Ocean carriers Mediterranean Shipping Co. and ZIM are restructuring their East Mediterranean-North Europe service network at the beginning of July.
   The Israel Express/NE1 service will change rotation with the July 8 sailing of the MSC Fortunate from Felixstowe. The revised port rotation of the loop will be Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, Le Havre, Haifa, Ashdod, Haifa, Naples, Valencia and Felixstowe. The Israel Express/NE1 will operate with five, 5,500-TEU vessels, three from MSC and two from ZIM, MSC said.
   According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, the Israel Express/NE1 currently operates with five vessels with an average capacity of 5,775 TEUs, four from MSC one from ZIM.
   The new rotation will offer improved transit times to better serve Haifa and Ashdod, according to a joint statement from the carriers. In addition, the loop will be supported by ZIM’s East Mediterranean feeder network, allowing fast transshipments from Haifa to ports in the Black Sea, Marmara and Greece, ZIM said.
   MSC is also adjusting its Levante Express loop starting with the July 9 sailing of the MSC Melissa from Felixstowe. According to ZIM’s online service schedule, it will join the Levante Express with this voyage, dubbing it the NE3.
   The revised port rotation of the loop will be Felixstowe, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Valencia, Limassol, Alexandria, Iskenderun, Mersin, La Spezia, Valencia and Felixstowe. MSC will provide all five of the 6,700-TEU average capacity vessels. The Levante Express currently operates with five MSC vessels with an average capacity of 6,197 TEUs, according to BlueWater Reporting.
   The added call at Iskenderun will improve connections with Turkey’s inland ports, while the new northbound call at Valencia will enable the service to connect Alexandria and Turkey to the Western Mediterranean, MSC said.
   ZIM’s only other service with direct connections between the East Mediterranean and North Europe, its NE2 loop, will remain unchanged. The NE2 has a port rotation of Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Antwerp, Malta, Haifa, Limassol, Alexandria, Ashdod, Salerno and Felixstowe. It operates with five vessels, all provided by Maersk’s intra-Europe specialist brand Seago Line, with an average capacity of 4,412 TEUs, according to BlueWater Reporting.