CMA CGM to make first direct Cai Mep call

CMA CGM to make first direct Cai Mep call    CMA CGM said Friday it is adding a call at the deepwater Cai Mep container port in southern Vietnam on its FAL3 Asia/Europe loop beginning Nov. 9.
   It’s the first call for the French line at Cai Mep, which is the only port in Vietnam capable of handling the large containerships that typically ply the Asia/Europe trade.
   The FAL3 service, operated with 10 CMA CGM vessels with an average capacity of 8,870 TEUs, according to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data, will have a rotation of Qingdao, Ningbo, Chiwan, Nansha, Yantian, Cai Mep, Port Klang, Malta, Le Havre, Dunkirk, Zeebrugge, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Zeebrugge, Southampton, Beirut, Jeddah, Port Klang and Qingdao. China Shipping and CMA CGM subsidiary ANL are slot buyers on the service.
   CMA CGM said the Vietnamese ports of Danang (in central Vietnam) and Haiphong (near Hanoi) will be served via dedicated feeder.
   Only three loops have called at Cai Mep and connect to Europe:
   ' The CKYH Alliance’s NE5 service, operated with nine Hanjin Shipping vessels.
   ' The Grand Alliance’s AEX service, an all-water transpacific service that connects on to Med ports.
   ' Maersk Line’s 14-ship TP-6/AE-6 pendulum between the Mediterranean, Asia and the U.S. West Coast.
   The Cai Mep call on Maersk’s service, however, is oriented for fast transit times to the U.S. West Coast and not to Europe (where the fastest call would be Cai Mep to Barcelona in 65 days). In comparison the CKYH NE5 service connects Cai Mep to Hamburg in 19 days and the Grand Alliance AEX service connects Cai Mep to Cagliari in 20 days, according to ComPair Data.
   On CMA CGM’s FAL3, the last call out of Asia is Port Klang, with a 11-day transit time to Malta.