FIRST 6,630-TEU MEGA-SHIP JOINS CMA CGM’S FLEET

FIRST 6,630-TEU MEGA-SHIP JOINS CMA CGM’S FLEET    The CMA CGM Balzac, the first of eight new 6,630-TEU post-Panamax containerships built for CMA CGM, will join the French carrier’s FAL Asia/Europe service next month.
   The new ship will be phased into the FAL service on April 30 at Shanghai, replacing a smaller vessel, the 3,961-TEU Ville de Mimosa, on this route.
   CMA CGM said the FAL's service schedule won't changed until the fourth quarter of this year, when the last of the eight new ships is scheduled to join the service. By then the service capacity will have increased 50 percent to 130,000 TEUs a year in each direction.
   China Shipping Container Lines, Contship Containerlines, National Shipping Co. of Saudi Arabia and Norasia take slots on the FAL service, operated mainly with CMA CGM vessels.
   CMA CGM is expected to switch vessels to the transpacific trade later this year as it introduces new tonnage in its Asia/Europe services.