MAERSK SEALAND ADDS MEXICAN CALL TO ASIA/NORTH AMERICA/EUROPE SERVICE

MAERSK SEALAND ADDS MEXICAN CALL TO ASIA/NORTH AMERICA/EUROPE SERVICE

   Maersk Sealand is introducing a direct service connecting Asia and Europe to the West Coast of Mexico by adding a call at Manzanillo, Mexico, to its established Asia/North America/northern Europe TP3/TA3 weekly service.

   The first call at Manzanillo is scheduled on Nov. 5.

   A spokesman for Maersk Sealand said that the carrier has experimented with occasional calls at Mexican ports and decided to include weekly calls in the service.

   The TP3/TA3 service has a revised rotation of Halifax, Nova Scotia; New York; Norfolk; Charleston; Manzanillo, Panama; Manzanillo, Mexico; Long Beach; Oakland; Yokohama; Kobe; Hong Kong; Kaohsiung; Kobe; Nagoya; Yokohama; Oakland; Long Beach; Manzanillo, Mexico; Manzanillo, Panama; Miami; Charleston; New York; Le Havre; Felixstowe; Bremerhaven; Rotterdam; Halifax; New York; Norfolk; Charleston; Port Everglades; Manzanillo, Panama; Manzanillo, Mexico; Long Beach and Oakland.

   In a related development, Maersk Sealand is adding a 12th ship to the service. The weekly “pendulum” service now employs 12 containerships with an average capacity of 4,426 TEUs.

   The addition of a vessel will ensure that on-time reliability remains high during the winter months, the Maersk Sealand spokesman said.

   CMA CGM and New World Alliance carriers APL, Hyundai and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines take space on the transatlantic leg of the TP3/TA3 service.