The world's largest container shipping line by fleet size, Maersk Line, plans to scrap its Mediterranean/Brazil Itajai Express service in June, and compensate for the loss of capacity by slot chartering space aboard a Hamburg Sud service in the North Europe/east coast South America trade.
"Vessels on this string [Itajai Express] have not been fully utilised and the closure is as an effort to match the actual requirements of the market and allow for an acceptable return on investments in this trade," said a Maersk statement.
The Itajai Express deploys three 2,800-TEU ships, instead of the five needed to maintain a weekly frequency. The port rotation for this service is: Gioia Tauro, Algeciras, Vitoria, Santos, Paranagua, Itajai, Rio de Janeiro, Tangiers and Gioia Tauro.
The last southbound sailing will be undertaken by the Maersk Jamestown, which is scheduled to set sail from Algeciras on June 20. The same vessel will also cover the last northbound sailing leaving Rio de Janeiro on July 6, American Shipper reports.
It said that following the termination of the Itajai Express, Maersk will load all cargo from Brazil to the Mediterranean on its L-class and SAMEX services via Tangiers, Morocco, where sister company APM Terminals has recently opened a new facility.
Furthermore, once the Itajai Express has been terminated Maersk will take slots on the River Plate Express service operated by Hamburg Sud, starting from the southbound departure of the Monte Cervantes from Rotterdam on June 20.
The River Plate Express deploys six 5,552-TEU vessels on a port rotation of: Rotterdam, Tilbury, Hamburg, Antwerp, Le Havre, Santos, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Rio Grande, Santos, Sepetiba and Rotterdam.
Said Maersk: "This product, which covers main destinations on the east coast of South America and in Europe, will provide reliable service that includes adequate time for operational contingencies and ensures sufficient space during peak seasons."
|
