Maersk Line, the world's largest shipping line by fleet size, is preparing to raise the capacity on its weekly Europe/Middle East ME3 service by phasing in ships of 6,250 TEU to replace the 5,500-TEU vessels presently used on the service.
The service upgrade will take effect from June 7 with the departure of the Maersk Kensington from Algeciras. The Danish carrier said it will also add an extra vessel in order to slow steam to reduce fuel costs. Maersk plans to complete the phase-in of the new ships within four weeks, American Shipper reports.
A Maersk statement said, "The reduced speed on the ME3 will not only ensure a more reliable service to our customers, but it will also provide a more environmentally-friendly transport due to the reduced emissions."
The Port of Tangiers in Morocco was also earlier added as a port of call on the ME3 service, to facilitate connection to ports in the Mediterranean and Africa.
The revised port rotation for the ME3 is: Algeciras, Tangiers, Gioia Tauro, Port Said, Salalah, Jebel Ali, Nhava Sheva, Salalah, Jeddah, Port Said, Gioia Tauro and Algeciras.
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