Zim has announced its new East-West Express Service (EWX), connecting major Asian and North European ports, starting January 15 with a westbound sailing from Shanghai.
Zim EWX is a weekly service, deploying eight 4,250-TEU vessels on the following rotation: Shanghai, Xiamen, Shekou, Port Kelang to three ports in the Bremerhaven-Le Havre range and one British port. The new service will also serve other Asian and European ports through feeder services.
This new Zim service will offer short and reliable transit times and will also cater to reefer, outsized and hazardous cargo, said the company, reports Port2Port, Israel's trade portal.
Zim EWX joins three Zim weekly services connecting Asia and Europe, namely the Far East North Europe Line (AEX), the Asia Mediterranean Express Line (AMX), as well as the ISE service between the Indian subcontinent and north Europe.
Altogether, with the addition of the new EWX service, Zim also operates three other weekly container services between Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea ports.
The EWX service is a significant upgrade, said the company. Its creation is part of the company's growth strategy, which includes two dozen very large containerships with capacities ranging from 8,000 to 12,600 TEU, which come into service at the end of 2008.
Zim's parent, Israel Corp, also has announced that Zim Integrated Shipping Services, will exercise its option to buy a 12,600-TEU containership for US$170.8 million, reported globes-online.com.
The option to buy the ship, to be delivered in 2012, was included in Zim's contract with South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries for eight containerships for $1.37 billion.
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