French ocean carrier CMA CGM announced that its new 9,400-TEU CMA CGM Danube will set forth on its maiden voyage on June 30 from China.
The ship is the first of a series of 28 ships with capacities of 9,400 TEUs to 10,900 TEUs to be delivered from now to the third quarter of 2016.
Sailing under the Malta flag and chartered bareboat to China International Marine Containers, it is the first ship of this class to be built at the Chinese construction site DSIC and delivered to the group.
With dimensions of 300 meters in length and 48 meters in width, the vessel is designed to meet the technical constraints imposed by the Strait of Bosphorus.
Operated on the group’s Bosphorus Express (BEX), the CMA CGM Danube will offer direct services between Asia, Turkey, and the Black Sea.
Its port rotation will be Dalian, Tianjin, Kwangyang, Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Chiwan, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Izmit, Istanbul Ambarli, Constanza, Odessa, Ilyichevsk, Port Said, Port Klang, Singapore, and once again Dalian.
The Marseilles-based container shipping line also announced a general rate restoration for all cargo from all Asian ports to the Middle East Gulf ports. Current rates will be higher by US$200 per TEU effective July 1.
Meanwhile, Hapag-Lloyd also revealed plans to implement a general rate increase (GRI) on its Asia services between July and August.
There will be a GRI on the East Asia-East Coast of South America trade lane to take effect from July 20. Rates for all cargoes and container types on this lane will inch up by US$750 per TEU.
Effective August 1, the German carrier will also impose rate hikes on all dry, reefer, flat-rack and open-top containers from East Asia to all U.S. and Canada destinations. The freight rate increases will be $640 per TEU, $800 per 40-foot unit, $850 per 40-foot high-cube container, and $1,076 per 45-fot container.
On the other hand, Hapag-Lloyd said it was revising the date and amount of the announced July GRI on the East Asia-North Europe/Mediterranean service network.
“We would like to inform you that Hapag-Lloyd will revise the earlier announced July GRI to now become effective July 1, 2014 instead of July 9, 2014,” it said.
The GRI for all cargoes and all container types on the Far East westbound trade will also be reduced from $1,000 per TEU to $550 per TEU.
These changes apply to all shipments from East Asia (excluding Japan) to all North Europe and Mediterranean destinations.
North Europe is comprised of the Northwest Continent, UK, Scandinavia, Baltic, and the European ports of Russia.
The Mediterranean consists of the West Mediterranean, East Mediterranean, Black Sea, and North Africa.
East Asia is defined as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, and the Russian Pacific Coast provinces.
Photo: Ilya Dobrioglo
