Carriers reorganize Asia service loops to improve connections

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ASAF route
ASAF route
CMA CGM’s overhauled ASAF route

French container carrier CMA CGM is revamping its Asia-West Africa services starting August.

“To better match the needs of its customers in terms of Asian ports covering and available capacities, and to improve the reliability and flexibility of its lines, CMA CGM has decided to reorganize the rotations of its ASAF and WAX lines,” a company release stated.

The ASAF is a weekly direct line dedicated to Angola, Congo, and Namibia, and deploys a fleet of 13 vessels of 5,700 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in capacity.

The reshuffled ASAF will unveil a new rotation that sees the addition of two ports—Xingang and Qingdao—in North China.

The maiden sailing is on August 9, 2014 with Cap Andreas calling at Xingang, Qingdao, Shanghai, Nansha, Chiwan, Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas, Port Klang, Walvis Bay, Pointe Noire, Luanda, Cape Town, Port Klang, and Xingang.

The WAX, on the other hand, is a weekly direct line dedicated to Nigeria, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire. Its new rotation will start in Central China with stops at Shanghai, Ningbo, Chiwan, Nansha, Tanjung Pelepas, Port Klang, Cape Town, Tin Can, Douala, Abidjan, Pointe Noire, Colombo, Port Klang, and Shanghai.

The revised service starts August 15 in Shanghai with the voyage of the Nordic Macau.

Evergreen’s ARC service

Meanwhile, Evergreen Line is reviving its ARC service to provide direct connections between the Far East and the southern Red Sea region after the Taiwanese box ship halted the service three years ago.

The REX 3/ARC 2 service is a joint undertaking of Evergreen with CMA CGM, United Arab Shipping Company, and China Shipping Container Lines.

The re-launch is intended to complement Evergreen Line’s ongoing Far East-Red Sea service that is focused on northern Red Sea ports in a joint operation with Cosco.

The ARC service will utilize seven vessels with a nominal capacity of 4,250 TEUs.

The 49-day rotation of the ARC will make calls at Xiamen, Shenzhen-Yantian, Shenzhen-Shekou, Port Klang, Djibouti, Jeddah, Port Sudan, Djibouti, Port Klang, and back to Xiamen.

The first sailing from Xiamen was scheduled for July 24.