Lines slow Europe-West Africa loop, add Amsterdam

   The ocean carriers Mitsui O.S.K Line, Hapag-Lloyd, and Zim have slowed their weekly six-ship ARN service between North Europe and West Africa, increasing round voyage time from 42 days to 49 days.
   The lines have also added a new second port inbound call at Amsterdam.
   The ARN will skip one sailing position commencing Amsterdam on Mar 25.
   Transit times northbound to Europe from West Africa on the ARN have increased by about one week.
   The revised rotation of the ARN service is Antwerp, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Thamesport, Antwerp, Dakar, Lagos, Tema, Abidjan, San Pedro, and Antwerp. The service is currently operated with three MOL vessels, two from Hapag-Lloyd, and one from Zim, with an average capacity of 2,061 TEUs.
   The three partners have no other services directly connecting West Africa with North Europe. MOL’s weekly joint ARS service with UASC and Hanjin, on which Hapag-Lloyd takes slots, however, connects the West African ports of Tema, Apapa and Cotonou with the West Mediterranean hub ports Algeciras and Tangiers. Zim operates the joint Med Africa Line service with COSCO, which also connects the Mediterranean with West Africa. — ComPair Data, Ben Meyer