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Zim adds new Mediterranean-US East Coast direct services

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(Screencap from Zim Integrated Shipping Services video)

Zim Integrated Shipping Services announced a restructuring of its Cross-Atlantic services linking the Mediterranean region with North and South America.

The updated structure, to take effect in February 2025, will enhance service offerings by establishing two weekly service strings, one focused on direct routes from Mediterranean ports to Canada and the U.S. East Coast, and the other covering Latin America and the Caribbean via Kingston, Jamaica, connecting with Zim’s extensive feeder network.

In a release, Haifa, Israel-based Zim (NYSE: ZIM) said the service restructuring aims to maintain the carrier’s wide cross-Atlantic geographical direct coverage, incorporating additional key export ports in Turkey and Italy while expanding scope to the west coast of South America and the Caribbean. “This new service structure will ensure both reliable and efficient service to meet growing customer demand and reflect Zim’s ongoing commitment to optimizing its network,” the company said.

The two restructured services will operate under the following routes:


ZCA
Mersin (Turkey) – Ashdod (Israel) – Haifa – Piraeus (Greece) – Livorno (Italy) (ZCA/ZCT westbound connection) – Genoa (Italy) – Barcelona (Spain) – Valencia (Spain) – Halifax (Canada) – New York – Norfolk (Virginia) – Savannah (Georgia) – Kingston (hub) – Valencia – Barcelona – Mersin

ZCT 

Kumport (Turkey) – Izmit (Turkey) – Aliaga (Turkey) – Salerno (Italy) – Livorno (ZCA/ZCT westbound connection) – Tangier (Morocco) – New York – Norfolk – Savannah – Port Everglades (Florida)

The new structure is subject to the execution of a new operational cooperation agreement with Hapag-Lloyd and applicable regulatory approvals.


“This service restructure reflects our continuous effort to adapt our services to the evolving needs of our customers, while maintaining our strong position in the market,” Assaf Tiran, executive vice president, Cross Suez and Atlantic Business Unit, said in the release. “We believe this updated service configuration will offer our customers more precise and reliable shipping solutions across these important trade routes.”

The restructuring follows an announcement by Zim in September that it had entered into a new long-term operational cooperation with longtime operations partner Mediterranean Shipping Co. on the Asia-U.S. East Coast and Asia-U.S. Gulf trades. The new services also are scheduled to be launched in February 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

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Stuart Chirls

Stuart Chirls is a journalist who has covered the full breadth of railroads, intermodal, container shipping, ports, supply chain and logistics for Railway Age, the Journal of Commerce and IANA. He has also staffed at S&P, McGraw-Hill, United Business Media, Advance Media, Tribune Co., The New York Times Co., and worked in supply chain with BASF, the world's largest chemical producer. Reach him at stuartchirls@firecrown.com.