Maersk doubles Manzanillo calls on WCSA/USEC
Maersk Line said last week it is amending the service rotation of a loop connecting the West Coast of South America with the U.S. East Coast to include double calls in the Panamanian transshipments hubs of Manzanillo and Balboa.
The new rotation of the line's Spondylus service, as of Feb. 9, will be Paita, Guayaquil, Balboa, Manzanillo (Panama), Miami, Newark, Philadelphia, Savannah, Miami, Manzanillo, Balboa, Esmeraldes and Paita.
According to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data, the service calls at Manzanillo, on the Caribbean side of Panama, only on the southbound leg. Francis Phillips of ComPair Data said the rotation is similar in concept to CMA CGM's Black Pearl service on the same trade in that it joins spokes at Panama's two transshipment hubs.
The Spondylus is operated with four Maersk vessels with an average capacity of 1,696 TEUs. Incidentally, the name of the service is derived from a type of seashell once used by Andeans as currency. ' Eric Johnson