Carriers shake up Europe-Mid E/ISC trade

Ocean carriers MSC, Hapag-Lloyd, Hamburg Sud and UASC will be shaking things up on the Europe-Middle East/ISC trade.

   Ocean carriers MSC, Hapag-Lloyd, Hamburg Sud and UASC will be shaking things up on the Europe-Middle East/ISC trade.
   These carriers will be enhancing their offerings within this trade with MSC adjusting its current standalone IPAK, which will join with UASC and CMA CGM’s jointly operated EPIC loop as a vessel provider; and Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Sud’s ELIP service will morph into the EPIC 2, which will be operated by CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Sud.
   According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, CMA CGM and UASC currently operate the EPIC service, which has a port rotation of Southampton, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, Dunkirk, Le Havre, Jeddah, Djibouti, Khor Fakkan, Dubai, Karachi, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Jeddah, Malta (Marsaxlokk), Tanger and Southampton.
   The current EPIC operates with eight vessels with an average capacity of 8,911 TEUs, with CMA CGM providing six vessels and UASC providing the additional two. COSCO, CSCL and CMA CGM’s subsidiary lines US Lines and ANL purchase slots on the loop.
   The revamped EPIC, will be referred to at the EPIC 1 by CMA CGM, IEC 1 by UASC and IPAK by MSC.
   MSC said Tuesday that a total of eight vessels with an average vessel capacity of 8,100 TEUs will cover fifteen ports on this service. The first westbound voyage of the loop is reported to sail out of Port Qasim on the CMA CGM La Traviata July 26. The first full sailing will occur Aug. 21 out of Southampton aboard the CMA CGM La Traviata. The loop will have a rotation of Southampton, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Felixstowe, Dunkirk, Le Havre, King Abdullah, Djibouti, Port Qasim, Nhava Sheva, Hazira, Mundra, King Abdullah, Gioia Tauro, Tangier and back to Southampton.
   Meanwhile, MSC’s “enhanced” IPAK service will continue sailing through August until the full rotation of the abovementioned new service commences Aug 21. The port rotation for the current IPAK is Rotterdam, Antwerp, Felixstowe, King Abdullah City, Karachi, Nhava Sheva, Hazira, Mundra, Salalah, Gioia Tauro, Valencia and back to Rotterdam. The current IPAK operates with seven vessels with an average capacity of 8,463 TEUs with MSC’s subsidiary line WEC as a slot purchaser, according to BlueWater Reporting.
   The second service offered as part of this Europe-Middle East/ISC trade optimization is the EPIC 2, which will be jointly operated by CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Sud, and is set to enhance the ELIP service, currently operated by Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Sud. CMA will call it the EPIC 2, while UASC will dub it the IEC 2. The current port rotation for the ELIP is Hamburg, Antwerp, London Gateway, Tanger Morocco, Cagliari, Jeddah, Dubai Jebel Ali, Karachi, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Jeddah, Cagliari, Tanger Morocco and back to Hamburg. The current ELIP operates with eight vessels with an average capacity of 8,473 TEUs. NYK and Hamburg Sud’s subsidiary line Alianca purchase slots on the loop, according to BlueWater Reporting.
   The new port rotation for the EPIC 2 will be Hamburg, Antwerp, London, Tangier, Cagliari, Jeddah, Khor al Fakkan, Jebel Ali, Port Qasim, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Jeddah, Cagliari, Tangier and back to Hamburg. The loop’s first westbound sailing will begin July 25 out of Khor Fakkan aboard the CSAV Toconao, with the first full sailing departing Hamburg Aug. 26 aboard that same vessel.
   Overall, the service optimizations for both loops include an improvement of port coverage with an addition of three weekly calls to the UK and a weekly call at Hazira – MSC’s IPAK service made that upgrade in the summer of 2015 – as well as an improvement of transit times from India.
   CLARIFICATION: A previous version of “Carriers shake up Europe-Mid E/ISC trade” stated that MSC’s IPAK service will end and the carrier will launch a new offering (in lieu of its current IPAK) with CMA CGM and UASC. However, it should be clear that the new rotation in which MSC will provide vessels, along with CMA CGM and UASC, will still be referred to as the IPAK by MSC.