Maersk Line ending Med/Brazil loop

Maersk Line ending Med/Brazil loop Maersk Line will next month terminate its Mediterranean/Brazil Itajai Express service and instead take space aboard a Hamburg S'd service in the North Europe/East Coast South America trade.
   'The vessels on this string (Itajai Express) have not been fully utilized and the closure is as an effort to match the actual requirements of the market and allow for an acceptable return on investments in this trade,' Maersk said in a statement.
   The Itajai Express uses three ships of about 2,800 TEUs — instead of the five needed to maintain a weekly frequency — on a rotation of Gioia Tauro, Algeciras, Vitoria, Santos, Paranagua, Itajai, Rio de Janeiro, Tangiers and Gioia Tauro.
   The last southbound sailing will be made by the Maersk Jamestown, which is expected to depart Algeciras June 20. The same vessel will also cover the last northbound sailing leaving Rio de Janeiro July 6.
   Maersk will in the future load all cargo from Brazil to the Mediterranean on its L-class and SAMEX services via Tangiers, Morocco, where sister company APM Terminals has recently opened a new facility.
   Those two service are also due for a makeover as Maersk said that from July it will alter the port coverage but still keep it 'in line with our customers' varying requirements.' The Copenhagen-based carrier also intends to slow the speed of the ships on the two services, something it admitted will stretch transit times in certain corridors but will benefit the environment by reducing emissions.
   With the end of the Itajai Express, Maersk will take slots on the River Plate Express service of Germany's Hamburg S'd, effective from the southbound departure of the Monte Cervantes from Rotterdam on June 20.
   The River Plate Express deploys six 5,552-TEU vessels and has an itinerary of Rotterdam, Tilbury, Hamburg, Antwerp, Le Havre, Santos, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Rio Grande, Santos, Sepetiba and Rotterdam.
   'This product, which covers main destinations on the East Coast of South America and in Europe, will provide our customers with a reliable service that includes adequate time in the schedule for operational contingency and ensures sufficient space during peak seasons,' Maersk said.
   Maersk previously took space on the River Plate Express, and another Hamburg S'd service in the same trade, Brazil Express, until the agreement expired Jan. 1, 2007.