CMA CGM, CSAV partner on Asia/Africa loop

CMA CGM, CSAV partner on Asia/Africa loop    Liner carriers CMA CGM and CSAV are starting a new jointly operated service between Asia and West Africa.
   Each line will provide five vessels on a service with a rotation of Ningbo, Shanghai, Chiwan, Hong Kong, Port Kelang, Lagos (Apapa), Loma, Tema, Abidjan, Douala and Ningbo.
   The service, to begin Aug. 3 from Ningbo, will operate with 10 vessels of 2,500 to 3,100 TEUs of capacity. CMA CGM will call the service WAX 2, while CSAV named it New Discovery.
   For CMA CGM, the service complements its WAX service on the same trade. The rotation for that service is Shanghai, Ningbo, Fuqing, Chiwan, Nansha, Port Kelang, Walvis Bay, Tema, Apapa, Lagos (Tin Can Island), Loma, Abidjan, Colombo, Port Kelang and Shanghai. That service operates with 10 vessels (all from CMA CGM) with an average capacity of 3,361 TEUs, according to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data. CMA CGM subsidiary Delmas is a slot buyer.
   As for the new service, it cements a partnership CSAV and CMA CGM first mooted in late June, when the Chilean line said it was in talks with CMA CGM and MSC to establish operational agreements to bolster its network.
   CMA CGM, meanwhile, said the WAX 2 will provide a direct connection in Cameroon, more transshipment capacity between Togo and Benin, as well as faster transit times from Port Kelang to Lagos.