Maersk withdraws Europe-WCSA loop

   The ocean carrier Maersk Line said Friday it will shutter its Andean service between Northern Europe and the west coast of South America.
   The line said the service has become too expensive to maintain, and ports in Peru and Chile served directly through the Andean loop will be covered by transshipment in Balboa, Panama.
   “A downward trend in freight levels for a number of years, combined with increasing costs due to rise in bunker prices this year, has made this decision necessary,” the line said.
   The last vessel on the service will depart Chile on May 20, with the last southbound sailing departing Rotterdam May 23.
   The rotation for the service, according to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data, is Rotterdam, Tilbury, Hamburg, Antwerp, Santa Marta, Cartagena, Manzanillo, Balboa, Guiyaquil, Callao, San Antonio, Callao, Balboa, Manzanillo, Santa Marta, and Rotterdam. It’s operated with eight Maersk ships with an average capacity of 2,554 TEUs each. – Eric Johnson