CSAV drops Marco Polo, joins MSC loop

   Liner carrier CSAV will end its Marco Polo service between India, the Middle East and South Africa as it joins a similar Mediterranean Shipping Co. service as a slot buyer, according to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data.
   The last voyage of the service is to depart Thursday from Durban.
   In July the Chilean line tied up a deal with MSC in which it will take slots on a number of MSC services while phasing out its own services on those trades. At that time, it was unclear how the CSAV-MSC agreement would affect service on the trade from India to South Africa.
   CSAV will take slots on MSC’s weekly Indian Subcontinent-Middle East service, which has a rotation of Durban, Colombo, Jebel Ali, Mundra, Nhava Sheva, Colombo, and Durban. It’s operated with six MSC ships with an average capacity of 2,752 TEUs. The rotation, when compared with the to-be-dropped Marco Polo, excludes calls in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, and Karachi, while the Colombo and Mundra calls are new for CSAV