Maersk amends Asia/Med network

   Maersk Line said this week it has adjusted its Asia/Mediterranean service network, adding calls in Valencia and La Spezia and narrowing rotations on services connecting its key Asian origin ports with Port Said in Egypt.
   The adjustments affect five services — four operated by Maersk and one by CMA CGM on which the Danish line takes slots. La Spezia is new to Maersk’s network, the line said.
   The amendments are:
   • On Maersk’s AE1, the line will add a westbound call at Port Said as of its Friday sailing, giving a rotation of Kobe, Nagoya, Yokohama, Ningbo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Port Said, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Singapore, Nansha and Kobe. The service operates with 10 vessels with an average capacity of 8,504 TEUs.
   • On the AE5 service, eastbound calls at Jeddah have been deleted as of Sept. 22 sailing, leaving a rotation of Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Port Said and Shanghai. The service operates with six vessels averaging 5,214 TEUs. CMA CGM and Safmarine take slots. The AE5 is an Asia/Europe service by the widest of definitions, with the call at Port Said providing Med access. Maersk said the deletion of the Jeddah call allows the AE5 to “focus entirely on servicing Port Said, Egypt, and those ports transshipping via Egypt.” Interestingly, other than Port Said, this service calls only the four Asian origin ports covered in Maersk’s new Daily Maersk product from Asia to Europe, in which it is offering daily cutoffs from Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantian and Tanjung Pelepas.
   • On Maersk’s AE9 service, calls will be dropped in Malaga and Singapore (eastbound) while a call at Tangiers has been added. That leaves a rotation of Ningbo, Shanghai, Xiamen, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Algeciras, Bremerhaven, Felixstowe, Zeebrugge, Tangiers and Ningbo. The service operates with nine vessels averaging 7,690 TEUs.
   • Maersk’s AE11 service will delete eastbound calls at Port Kelang and Marseilles-Fos, as well as an eastbound call at Port Said, though the westbound Port Said call is retained. Jeddah, Valencia and La Spezia calls have been added. The revised rotation is Qingdao, Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Jeddah, Valencia, Barcelona, Genoa, La Spezia, Port Said, Salalah, Singapore and Qingdao. The service operates with nine vessels averaging 8,329 TEUs. CMA CGM, Safmarine and ANL take slots.
   • CMA CGM’s MEX service, which Maersk participates on as a slot buyer and calls AE15, will see a call at Damietta dropped as of the Sept. 18 sailing. Maersk’s dropped calls at Marseilles-Fos on the AE11 will be covered by calls at the French port on this service. The revised rotation is Gwangyang, Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Nansha, Chiwan, Tanjung Pelepas, Port Klang, Beirut, Marsaxlokk, Valencia, Barcelona, Marseilles-Fos, Genoa, Malta, Port Said, Khor al Fakkan, Port Kelang, Nansha, Xiamen and Gwangyang. The service operates with 11 vessels (all from CMA CGM) averaging 8,072 TEUs. Delmas and ANL also take slots.  — Eric Johnson