Safmarine forsakes Tangiers

   Safmarine, Belgian subsidiary of A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, will discontinue service to the Mediterranean via joint hub of Tangiers and will replace it instead only with calls at Algeciras and Malaga.    In an advisory to customers, the carrier announced that the change was due to “dissatisfactory service levels” and specifically cited the “combination of repeated disruptions and a lack of any guarantee of improvements in the foreseeable future.”
   The first services to be directly affected by this sudden change in Safmarine’s operating procedure in the West Mediterranean are those belonging to the WAF portfolio, operated by Safmarine and Maersk Line between Europe and West Africa.    In addition to dropping Tangiers entirely from the available port calls in the WAF service line-up, Safmarine has also dropped several calls at Malaga, leaving Algeciras as the main hub for their Europe-West Africa trade, according to ComPair Data.
   Although the basic structure of the WAF services remains intact, Safmarine has been forced to reshuffle much of the capacity on these services in order to account for the unexpected reduction in West Med hub calls.    The adjustment affects all 12 of the WAF services in one way or another, and a full summary of the changes made to the WAF service line-up is presented below, courtesy of ComPair Data.

• On Safmarine’s WAF1, the line has dropped calls at Malaga and Tangiers, leaving a rotation of Algeciras, Tema, Takoradi, Algeciras.    The service operates with four vessels with an average capacity of 2,548 TEUs and although Safmarine has changed two of its four vessels, there has been no significant change in capacity.
• On the WAF2 service, Safmarine has dropped a call in Tangiers, giving a rotation of Algeciras, Pionte Noire, Libreville, Algeciras, while decreasing capacity considerably.    The carrier has changed all five of the vessels on the WAF2, decreasing average capacity from 2,430 TEUs to 1,753 TEUs, a decrease of nearly 28 percent in all.
• On Safmarine’s WAF3, the carrier has dropped calls at Malaga as well as Tangiers, shortening the port rotation to simply Algeciras, Apapa, Algeciras.    Although Safmarine also changed three of the four vessels on the service, the average capacity remains 2,524 TEUs.    
• On the WAF5, the only butterfly service in the portfolio, Safmarine has also dropped Tangiers, while changing three of the seven vessels, increasing average capacity from 1,250 TEUs to 1,467 TEUs, an increase of more than 17 percent.    The WAF5 now has a rotation of Leixoes, Lisbon, Algeciras, Luanda, Walvis Bay, Abidjan, Algeciras, Vigo, Leixoes, Lisbon, Algeciras, Luanda, Walvis Bay, Abidjan, Algeciras, Leixoes.
• On the WAF6, Safmarine dropped a call in Tangiers, leaving a rotation of Antwerp, Rotterdam, Felixstowe, Le Havre, Algeciras, Apapa, Cotonou, Douala, Abidjan, Algeciras, Antwerp.    The service operates with six vessels with an average capacity of 2,478 TEUs.
• On Safmarine’s WAF7, the carrier dropped a call in Tangiers, giving a rotation of Algeciras, Freetown, Monrovia, Algeciras. Safmarine also changed all three of the vessels on the WAF7, decreasing average capacity from 1,780 TEUs to 1,629 TEUs, a decrease of more than 8 percent.    
• On the WAF8, Safmarine dropped a call in Tangiers, leaving a rotation of Algeciras, Nouakchott, Banjul, Algeciras.    The service operates with three vessels with an average capacity of 1,673 TEUs.
• The WAF9 service is the least affected by this change as it did not originally call at Tangiers, but Safmarine has changed both of its two vessels, with a 4 percent increase in capacity.    The port rotation remains Leixoes, Lisbon, Algeciras, St Vincente (Cape Verde), Praia de Vitoria, Bissau, Nouadhibou, Algeciras, Leixoes.    The WAF9 currently operates with two vessels with an average capacity of 1,162 TEUs.
• On the WAF10, Safmarine has dropped a call at Tangiers, leaving a rotation of Algeciras, Conakry, Algeciras.    The carrier has also added one vessel to the existing three, increasing voyage length from 21 days to 28 days round, and changed all three of the remaining vessels.    As a result, the WAF10 increased average capacity from 1,610 TEUs to 2,444 TEUs, an increase of more than 50 percent in all.
• On Safmarine’s WAF11, which was only introduced in September of 2011 along with the WAF12 and WAF13, the carrier has dropped calls in Malaga and Tangiers, giving a rotation of Algeciras, Lome, Onne, Algeciras.    The carrier also changed three of the four vessels on the WAF11, increasing average capacity from 2,284 TEUs to 2,487 TEUs, an increase of nearly 9 percent.
• On the WAF 12, Safmarine has also dropped both Malaga and Tangiers, leaving a rotation of Algeciras, Abidjan, Cotonou, Algeciras.    The WAF12 currently operates with four vessels with an average capacity of 2,400 TEUs.
• On the WAF13, Safmarine has dropped calls in Malaga and Tangiers, leaving a rotation of Algeciras, Dakar, Algeciras.    The carrier has also removed one vessel from the existing three, decreasing voyage length from 21 days to 14 days round, and changed the two remaining vessels.    As a result, the WAF13 decreased average capacity from 1,730 TEUs to 1,118 TEUs, a reduction of nearly 36 percent.

   Maersk Line has yet to comment on how this change may affect its own services, which already rely heavily on the use of West Mediterranean hubs Algeciras and Malaga as well as Tangiers.
   An analysis using ComPair Data’s database shows that there are currently 21 services that call at Tangiers, four of which belong to Maersk. French liner CMA CGM, along with subsidiary Delmas, operates 11 such services, by far the most of any carrier, and either provides vessels or purchases slots on at least three more. Of those CMA CGM services that call Tangiers, six specifically serve the Europe-West Africa trade. Hamburg Sud operates three services that currently call Tangiers with the help of a wide range of partners, including Alianca, Hapag-Lloyd, CNNI, Zim, CSAV, and CMA CGM. Two New World Alliance services call Tangiers as well as one joint service operated by alliance member MOL, UASC, and Hanjin that also serves the Europe-West Africa trade. – Ben Meyer