MAERSK SEALAND SCALES DOWN TA2 ATLANTIC SERVICE

MAERSK SEALAND SCALES DOWN TA2 ATLANTIC SERVICE

   Maersk Sealand is phasing out one of the six “Econships” in its TA2 transatlantic service and revising its rotation.

   The service will maintain its weekly frequency when the Newark Bay is phased in early, but the remaining five 4,614-TEU ships will serve fewer ports.

   The revised rotation of the TA2 service will be Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Felixstowe, Charleston, Houston, Savannah, Norfolk, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven and Felixstowe.

   Calls at Boston, Freeport, New York and Le Havre are being eliminated according to the schedule. However, a spokesman for Maersk Sealand said the plan has not been finalized and port calls at Boston and Le Havre are under review.

   In mid-October, Maersk Sealand will begin taking space on the weekly Atlantic Pacific Express/ECS service operated by New World Alliance carriers APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines. This service, an extension of the New World Alliance’s Asia/U.S. East Coast ECS service across the Atlantic, will pick up Maersk Sealand’s TA2 calls at New York.

   Conversely, the New World Alliance will start taking space, next month, on Maersk Sealand’s TA2 and TA3/TP3 transatlantic ships.

   The revised transit times of Maersk Sealand’s TA2 loop are posted on the global shipping database ComPairData at http://www.compairdata.com .