CMA CGM converts PEX3 to around-the-world service

The French ocean carrier will also drop a call in Qingdao and add calls in Charleston, Tangiers, and Singapore to its Pacific Express 3 loop between Asia and the United States Gulf and East Coast.

   French ocean carrier CMA CGM is converting the service rotation of its Pacific Express 3 service between Asia and the United States Gulf and East Coast to an eastbound around-the-world, rather than having vessels transit the Panama Canal and Pacific Ocean in both directions.
   The PEX3 service will also add calls in Charleston; Tangier, Morocco; and Singapore, while dropping a call in Qingdao, CMA CGM said in a statement.
   Today, ships deployed on the PEX3 sail from Asia across the Pacific, through the Panama Canal to ports in the U.S. Gulf and Florida, then return through the Panama Canal to Asia. Starting next month, instead of returning to Asia via the Panama Canal, vessels in the string will sail across the Atlantic, through the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal to Singapore and other Asian ports.
   Effective with the March 9 call by the CMA CGM Chateau D’If  (voyage 062PGW), the new rotation will be Houston, Mobile, Miami, Jacksonville, Charleston, Tangier, Singapore, Hong Kong, Chiwan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Busan, Manzanillo, and Houston.
   The service currently operates with 11 vessels with average capacity of around 5,000 TEUs, according to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting. CMA CGM said the number and size of the ships serving on the PEX3 loop will remain the same. Fellow Ocean3 Alliance member CSCL, which recently merged with COSCO at the behest of the Chinese government, purchases slots on the service along with CMA CGM subsidiary lines ANL, Delmas, and U.S. Lines.
   CMA CGM said the new rotation will offer:
     • Improved connections from the U.S. Gulf Coast to West Africa and North Africa via its Tangier hub;
     • Direct access to Singapore as a new port of call;
     • Improved transit times and connections to Southeast Asia from all PEX 3 ports of load;
     • Faster transit time from Charleston to West Africa, Singapore and Asia;
     • And better connections from Mobile to West Africa, Mediterranean & North Europe via Tangier.