MSC RESTRUCTURES AFRICAN, AUSTRALIAN SERVICES

MSC RESTRUCTURES AFRICAN, AUSTRALIAN SERVICES    Mediterranean Shipping Co., now the world’s second largest container shipping line, will restructure several of its southern hemisphere services and introduce a direct Europe/Australia/New Zealand service in January.
   Citing severe congestion problems in South African ports, MSC has decided to split its Europe/South Africa/Australia multi-trade service into three separate services.
   The Swiss shipping group admitted that port delays in South Africa have affected the schedule reliability of its services, some of which depend on fast transshipment links at the port of Durban.
   A reorganization of the carrier’s services from Europe to South Africa, Australia/New Zealand and the Indian Ocean, and between South Africa and Australia, will avoid operational delays, a spokesman for MSC said.
   In January, MSC will introduce a direct service between Europe, Australia and New Zealand via the Suez Canal. Deploying 14 vessels, the service will have a rotation of Antwerp, Felixstowe, Rouen, Le Havre, Valencia, La Spezia, Marseille, Pointe des Galets, Port Louis, Fremantle, Melbourne, Sydney, Tauranga, an unnamed New Zealand South Island east coast port, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle, Singapore, Jeddah, La Spezia and Antwerp. The revised service via Suez will result in improved schedule integrity, MSC said. Previously, its Europe/Australasia service vessels sailed via South Africa.
   The restructuring of MSC’s Europe/Australasia service follows the introduction by P&O Nedlloyd, Contship and other carriers of a new direct joint service via the Suez Canal.
   To pick up the Europe/South Africa portion of its former Europe/South Africa/Australia multi-trade service, MSC is launching an end-to-end weekly service between north European ports and South Africa. Utilizing seven ships, the revised service will have a rotation of Felixstowe, an unnamed German port, Antwerp, Le Havre, Las Palmas, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and back to Europe. MSC will also provide transshipment connections via Las Palmas for Mediterranean cargo.
   The South Africa/Australia leg of MSC’s former multi-trade operation will be covered by a separate service from South Africa to Australia, from January. This service will operate with four vessels connecting the major South African ports with Australia.
   The South Africa/Australia service will also carry U.S./Australia cargoes transshipped in South Africa.
   The U.S./South Africa container service of MSC is not affected by the changes.
   In a separate development, MSC also announced the upgrading of its Europe/Indian Ocean service from a 9-day to a weekly frequency.