MSC joins up U.S. East Coast-WCSA loops

   The ocean carrier Mediterranean Shipping Co. has extended its Andean Feeder Service between its hub in Freeport, Bahamas, and the west coast of South America to include a full direct service to New York and Philadelphia.
   Previously the five-ship Andean Feeder loop turned in Freeport and a separate single-ship weekly shuttle connected New York and Philadelphia with Freeport. 
   The revised Andean Feeder Service operates with a roundtrip voyage time of 42 days. It currently employs five ships and an average weekly capacity of 3,807 TEUs. All five ships, which include the former shuttle-service vessel, now call Philadelphia, New York, Freeport, Cristobal, Balboa, Buenaventura, Callao, Arica, Coronel, San Antonio, Balboa, Cristobal, Freeport, and Philadelphia. 
   The previous Andean Feeder operated with five ships on a 35-day roundtrip voyage to WCSA and an identical port rotation except that the loop started and ended in Freeport. 
   American Shipper reported July 18 when MSC reduced its U.S. East Coast to Freeport feeder service to a single-ship shuttle. – ComPair Data, Krista LaRocca