Maersk Line announces revisions to its trans-Atlantic network including removal of the Trans-Atlantic 3 (TA3) service between North America and Northern Europe in an effort to adjust capacity to better suit market demand.
“Trading and market conditions on the trans-Atlantic route warrant
elimination of excess capacity between Europe and North America,” says
Soren Castbak, Senior Director of Atlantic Services for Maersk Line.
Subject to regulatory filing, the TA3 service will be discontinued in
mid-December 2009, reducing by one third the capacity offered by the
New World Alliance, (a consortia of APL, MOL and Hyundai), CMA-CGM and
Maersk Line.
Maersk Line will continue its partnership and space exchange with the
New World Alliance in the trans-Atlantic trades. Maersk Line will also
continue its slot charter with CMA-CGM; however, excess capacity will
be eliminated in response to market conditions.
“We monitor the dynamics of the marketplace closely to ensure our
product network is efficient and matches the demands of the trade.
Although we believe we have seen the bottom, these capacity reductions
are necessary due to the lower demand caused by the economic downturn,”
continues Castbak.
Maersk Line will maintain its current port offering as today with those
calls in the TA3 service being added to the Trans-Atlantic 1 (TA1) and
Trans-Atlantic 2 (TA2) services. Furthermore, Maersk Line will offer
service to Antwerp as a part of the revised TA1.
“We have found ways to adapt our network without affecting overall port
coverage or service levels. In fact, we continue to add new ports to
our network and with additional vessels deployed in the revised
services, our on-time performance will remain best in class,” says
Soren Castbak.
“With a revised service network in the Atlantic trades, we are able to
continue to provide our customers with comprehensive, sustainable
service coverage, reliability and on-time delivery.”
Changes to the TA1 service will include the addition of an eastbound
call at Antwerp, Belgium and also Le Havre, France, previously offered
as part of the TA3 service. The new eastbound rotation includes: Miami,
Jacksonville, Savannah, Charleston, Newark, Antwerp, Bremerhaven,
Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Le Havre.
The westbound rotation will not only offer service to the US West Coast
through Los Angeles and Oakland, but will also feature new calls at
Antwerp, Belgium and Le Havre, France.
The new rotation consists of:
Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Le Havre, Newark, Norfolk, Charleston, Los Angeles, and Oakland.
In addition to its current port schedule, the TA2 service will offer
new port calls at Miami on the eastbound rotation and Newark, Savannah,
and Miami on the westbound.
Thus, the revised eastbound rotation will be:
Miami, Houston, Mobile, Norfolk, Rotterdam, Felixstowe and Bremerhaven.
The westbound rotation will be:
Rotterdam, Felixstowe, Bremerhaven, Newark, Charleston, Savannah, Miami, Houston, and Mobile.
Network developments for the Asia to Europe, Europe to Middle East and South Asia and Asia to Middle East trades
Maersk Line is pleased to provide an update on our 2009 to 2010
seasonal capacity provision and other planned network developments for
the Asia to Europe, Europe to Middle East and South Asia, and Asia to
Middle East trades.
Maersk Line will implement a measured withdrawal of 2500 FFE per week
from our network, while also expanding our use of eco speeding to
reduce fuel intake and CO2 emissions on our main services.
These actions are expected to be in place for 6 months, effective from the end of November 2009.
Seasonal withdrawal of capacity
We will add Middle East port calls to our Asia Europe services,
including the AE7 (add Salalah to West Med and Northern Europe) and the
AE1 eastbound (new connections from Northern Europe to Jebel Ali and
Jebel Ali to Asia). Combined with various other port calls, these new
calls will widen our coverage of the Middle East starting in
mid-December 2009.
ME3 service, covering Mediterranean - South Asia - Middle East,
will be withdrawn temporarily. We will continue to provide services to
and from Middle East ports via a combination of our AE1, AE6, AE7, AE11
and ME1 services.
These changes will amount to a withdrawal of 2500 FFE capacity per week from our network.
Maersk Line will release specific details of the service changes on
Tuesday 27 October 2009 on maerskline.com under Services – Schedules –
By map – Maersk Line service network.
Eco Speed
While making the above changes, we will move our Asia Europe services
to the next stage of eco-speeding, meaning reductions in fuel
consumption and lower CO2 emissions. Container shipping is the most
fuel-efficient means of cargo transportation (according to the Network
of Transport and Environment), and Maersk Line is at the forefront of
developments in this area.
Maersk Line first introduced slower sailing speeds to our Asia Europe
network in February 2008, and we’ve been making steady progress ever
since. Starting at the end of November 2009, all westbound sailings
from Asia to Europe will move from 20-22 kn to 17–19 kn average speed.
This will be combined with 14–16 kn speeds eastbound to offer
best-in-class network coverage and an improved carbon footprint.
The speed change will add 1 or 2 days’ transit time to westbound legs,
depending on the service. However, our transit times will remain
competitive and we will continue to lead the market in schedule
reliability.
Maersk Line will release specific details of the service changes on 27 October 2009.
Source: Maersk Line
