CMA CGM'S intra-Asia arm CNC has upgraded the Korea China Southeast Asia (KCS) service to the 6,000-7,000 teu scale, making it the largest dedicated intra-Asia service alongside Maersk/Sealand Asia's IA-8 service that deploys ships in the 6,000 teu size. These 2 intra-Asia services are the largest services in the North Asia-Southeast Asia corridor that commonly employs ships in the 1,700-4,200 teu scale. The KCS calls at Xingang, Dalian, Lianyungang, Qingdao, Singapore, Jakarta, Surabaya, Man
Maersk swung to a -$27m EBIT loss in 3Q 2023 but instead of shedding excess capacity, Maersk has been actively adding new capacity while slashing rates to recover market share. Maersk’s aggressive price cutting was one of the main reasons behind the dramatic drop in market rates in the 3rd quarter. Maersk’s average freight rates dropped by 14% QoQ despite having 68% of its total volumes on fixed contracts, highlighting just how aggressive its pricing actions have been as its total liftings rec
Hapag-Lloyd will receive next month the first of 9 ships of 14,372 teu that it has chartered from SFL and Enesel for 5 year periods in the first benchmark fixture for ships of this size following the expiry of their initial 10 year charter to Evergreen. The first 2 ships (THALASSA HELLAS and THALASSA PATRIS) are currently undergoing upgrades at COSCO Zhoushan including raised lashing bridges that will increase their nominal capacity from 13,808 teu to 14,372 teu. They will join the FE-US East
MSC has extended its lead at the top of the carrier rankings, with its current fleet reaching 5.36m teu, up from 4.61m teu at the beginning of January. Newbuilding deliveries contributed 557,000 teu to the increase, with the rest coming from second hand vessel acquisitions and new charters. MSC has grown at an average rate of 83,000 teu a month, with its lead over 2nd place Maersk rising to 1.24m teu. Maersk has seen its operated fleet shrink from 4.21m teu at the beginning of the year to 4.12
Several carriers have announced their participation in the new X-Press Feeders North China-India West Coast X-Press (NWX) service that is operated jointly with Maersk, which brands it as the FI3 (Far East-India 3) that will start from October 2023. ONE, ESL and Sinokor have all announced their participation in the service, branding it respectively by ONE as Northeast Asia to Pakistan and India (NPI), ESL as Far East West India (FWI) and Sinokor as the North China-India West Coast Express (NWX).
MSC and Zim have announced on 6 September 2023 a new operational cooperation agreement covering the trades between the Indian subcontinent with the East Mediterranean, the East Mediterranean with Northern Europe, and services connecting East Asia with Oceania. The cooperation is expected to be expanded when the current 2M-Zim collaboration is dissolved from January 2025, with MSC poised to further extend its current slot sale agreement with Zim on the Asia-PNW route to cover the Asia-US East Coa
TS Lines will join Maersk/Sealand Asia on the new IA-10 service that calls at Taichung, Xiamen, Hong Kong, Shekou, Sihanoukville, Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Ho Chi Minh City, Batangas, Manila (North), Taichung. The service turns in 21 days using 3 ships with TS Lines adding the 1,808 teu TS BANGKOK to the service from 20 August 2023, joining the 1,774 teu NORDMAAS and 1,781 teu HELGOLAND from Maersk.
X-Press Feeders will add a new North China-India West Coast X-Press (NWX) service in a new Vessel Sharing Agreement with Maersk on the current FI3 service from 14 September 2023. The new NWX/FI3 service will be an enhancement of the existing FI3 with the addition of new calls at Port Klang, Karachi and Mundra and a 7th ship added with the capacity to be enhanced from 3,300-5,000 teu to the 7,000 teu. X-Press Feeders will contribute 4 of the 7 ships including its new 7,092 teu ships that are b
Maersk and X-Press Feeders will jointly launch a new Safina/China-Jebel Ali Express (CJX) service that connects Ningbo, Shanghai, Shekou, Tanjung Pelepas, Port Klang, Jebel Ali, Colombo, Singapore from 19 September 2023. The service will turn in 6 ships of 4,000-5,000 teu, with 4 ships from Maersk and 2 ships from X-Press Feeders. The service will replace the existing China Jebel Ali X-Press/Arabian Express (CJX/ABX) and Straits Middle East X-Press/Arabian Star (SMX/ABS) service that calls res
Maersk has added additional sailings between China/Korea and the US East Coast on its extra loader program for overflow cargo, retaining the routing via the Panama Canal despite ongoing draft restrictions and congestion. Maersk has deployed 8 extra sailings to the US East Coast since the beginning of July 2023 using ships of 3,000-7,000 teu, of which 6 sailings took the Panama route without encountering any significant delays, while 2 sailings were routed via the Suez Canal. * GSL ELEFTHERIA