Italia Maritima upgrading Med service

Italia Maritima upgrading Med service Italia Maritima said Monday it is upgrading the service it provides with alliance partners between the Mediterranean and the U.S. East Coast'which includes a call at the Port of Miami'by adding new port calls in the Mediterranean and bringing in larger and faster vessels.
   In September, at the end of the current voyage cycle that starts in Italy August 4, Italia Maritima and partners CMA CGM and Gold Star Line will change the U.S.-Med service to add direct calls at the Turkish ports of Izmir and Istanbul. There will be two calls at the Italian feeder port of Taranto, and the carriers are changing their Spain call to from Valencia to Barcelona.
   Six vessels with capacities of approximately 2,500 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) are replacing the 1,800-TEU vessels that had been used in the service. Italia will provide two ships, while CMA CGM and Gold Star will supply the other four.
   Italia said the calls at Taranto will significantly increase feeder service opportunities, including calls locations in North Africa and the Black Sea, in addition to ports along the northern and eastern coasts of the Mediterranean.
   The service also calls the U.S. ports of New York/New Jersey, Norfolk, and Savannah, with Miami as the last outbound call in the U.S.