Lines increase Europe-WCSA ship size

   Three container lines that operate a service between Europe, the Caribbean, and the west coast of South America will increase the size of their vessels on the service from early February, according to a notice from one of the lines, Hapag-Lloyd.
   The line’s SW2 service, which it jointly runs with Hamburg Süd and CMA CGM, will see vessel sizes increase from the current 1,900 TEUs to 3,000 TEUs. The service will also see calls at Caucedo deleted.
   The revised rotation, from Feb. 8, will be Callao, Paita, Guayaquil, Manzanillo, Cartagena, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, Le Havre, Kingston, Cartagena, Manzanillo, Guayaquil, and Callao. Hamburg Süd calls the service Eurosal Sling 2, while CMA CGM dubs it WCV. According to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data, the service is operated with eight vessels (three each from the German lines and two from CMA CGM).
   Hapag-Lloyd said Caucedo will be covered by the SW1 service, which it also jointly runs with Hamburg Süd and CMA CGM, while “a potential Buenaventura northbound call is still under review.” — Eric Johnson