Maersk extends SE Asia-NZ butterfly loop

   The ocean carrier Maersk Line has extended its weekly Southeast Asia to Oceania double-loop NZ1 service further into New Zealand and added a 10th vessel, increasing the full butterfly roundtrip voyage time from 63 days to 70 days, while at the same time entering into a slot agreement with CMA CGM on the service.
   Maersk has added new port calls at Wellington and Nelson, leaving a revised rotation of Tanjung Pelepas, Singapore, Tauranga, Wellington, Nelson, Lyttelton, Port Chalmers, Tanjung Pelepas, Singapore, Brisbane, Auckland, Tauranga, and Tanjung Pelepas. 
   Transit times southbound from Southeast Asia direct to New Zealand have increased by about seven days, now taking 21 days between Maersk’s mega-regional hub in Tanjung Pelepas and Lyttelton, New Zealand. Northbound transit remains roughly the same, taking 16 days on the return.
   French carrier CMA CGM will begin purchasing slots on the NZ1, calling it the ANZEX2, with the Aug. 27 sailing of the Algarrobo from Tanjung Pelepas, joining present slot-takers Hapag-Lloyd, Hamburg Sud and its subsidiary Alianca. For the time being, CMA CGM will not offer slots to Wellington and Nelson.
   The service is now operated with 10 Maersk vessels with an average capacity of 2,765 TEUs.
   Maersk now has no other direct service between Asia and New Zealand so NZ1 connects New Zealand with other Asian origins/destinations in Tanjung Peleas, Singapore, or Brisbane. – ComPair Data, Ben Meyer