CMA CGM adds Japan calls to MEX service

CMA CGM adds Japan calls to MEX service    Liner carrier CMA CGM said Monday it will begin offering direct service from three Japanese ports to the Mediterranean from mid-May.
   The line's MEX Asia-Mediterranean service will soon include direct calls at Nagoya, Yokohama and Kobe. It’s the first time in a decade CMA CGM has linked Japan to Europe on a direct service, according to AXS-Alphaliner. The carrier previously served the Japanese ports through a feeder from Busan.
   The new port rotation will be Nagoya, Yokohama, Kobe, Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Chiwan, Hong Kong, Port Kelang, Beirut, Malta, Valencia, Barcelona, Marseille Fos, Genoa, Naples, Malta, Damietta, Djibouti, Khorfakkan, Port Kelang, Chiwan and Nagoya.
   CMA CGM said the Japanese ports are further linked to ports in the Adriatic, East Mediterranean and Black Sea through its hubs in Malta and Damietta.
   'We are the only shipping line offering at this stage a competitive and efficient connection from Japanese ports to a wide range of Mediterranean ports and vice versa,' said Christine Cabau, senior vice president Asia/Mediterranean, Red Sea, Black Sea and Adriatic lines, in a statement. 'The Japan market was the missing direct link in our Asia/Med and Med/Asia coverage; the MEX service is correcting this.'
   The new rotation will still be operated with 10 vessels of about 5,700 TEUs, with the first vessel to call in Japan May 22. To maintain the schedule integrity on the service, the ports of Lianyungang and Qingdao have been dropped.