Maersk Line will reintroduce its CRX service linking Mexico and Central America with Northern Europe this week.
The line merged the CRX with its Ecubex service in mid-2011, but will now operate the CRX as a standalone “for the years to come,” it said in a statement.
The CRX will have a rotation of Bremerhaven, Veracruz, Altamira, Big Creek, Manzanillo (Panama), Puerto Moin, Cork, Tilbury, Rotterdam, and Bremerhaven. It will be operated with six 2,500-TEU vessels.
“The service that will connect Tilbury, Rotterdam and Bremerhaven with Veracruz and Altamira in Mexico is the only direct dedicated service in the trade,” Maersk said. “The value propositions of the service, supports the tight supply chains of the customers in the automotive, paper and chemical segments. The service will also provide very competitive transit times and direct port coverage for the shippers of fresh fruit from Belize, Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama into North Europe.
“The fruits loaded at Puerto Moin in Costa Rica will reach Tilbury and Rotterdam in 13 and 15 days respectively. In Manzanillo, Panama the service will connect with the extensive Maersk Line feeder coverage, ensuring competitive transit times to/from the rest of Central America and the Caribbean.”
In bypassing U.S. ports, Maersk said shippers can avoid advanced manifest system (AMS) filings. The first southbound sailing will occur on Dec. 15 from Bremerhaven.
Maersk’s Ecubex service has an existing rotation of St. Petersburg, Bremerhaven, Altamira, Veracruz, Puerto Limon, Manzanillo (Panama), Balboa, Guiyaquil, Balboa, Manzanillo, Moin Bay, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, and St. Petersburg, according to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data. In the same way the Ecubex loop connects to St Petersburg, it is noted the northbound addition of Cork in CRX connects all Maersk’s many loops calling at its Manzanillo hub in Panama directly with southeast Ireland, and will then provide mainline space for SeaGo Line to market between Ireland and Tilbury, Rotterdam and Bremerhaven, either for local intra-Europe trade or for further connections beyond. – Eric Johnson and Francis Phillips
Maersk restarts CRX, adds Ireland
