Maersk ending U.S. East Coast/East Med loop

Maersk ending U.S. East Coast/East Med loop    Maersk Line said Tuesday it will end its weekly transatlantic East Med service by the fourth quarter, with cargo from that service being transferred to its MECL services linking the U.S. East Coast with the Mediterranean, Middle East and Indian subcontinent via the Suez Canal.
   The East Med service has used seven ships in the 1,900-TEU to 2,500-TEU range. The full port rotation of the service, in which German line Hapag-Lloyd takes space, is: Alexandria, Haifa, Izmir, Gioia Tauro, New York, Norfolk, Savannah, Cagliari and back to Alexandria.
   To facilitate the cargo transfer from the East Med to MECL services, the Danish carrier is adding calls at Port Said in Egypt to the two MECL services. Port Said is one of Maersk’s transshipment centers operated by sister company APM Terminals and will feed cargo to and from Izmir, Haifa, and other East Mediterranean ports.
   Port Said will be included eastbound on the MECL 1 loop with the first voyage on the new rotation being made by the vessel Maersk Missouri when it leaves New York on Aug. 28. The port will be added westbound to the MECL 2 service with the first departure from Port Said to North America scheduled to be made by the Maersk Daesan on Aug. 2.
   “The enhancements will further enable us to meet our customers’ requirements for schedule reliability and fast transit times,” Maersk Line said in a statement.