CMA CGM will streamline its service offering between Asia and West Africa from the first week of March 2017.
According to the shipping line, the shuffle is in line with market trends in West Africa.
CMA CGM will offer four direct weekly services instead of five, terminating the WAX2 service and reorganizing the WAX, WAX3 and AFEX services. The ASAF service will remain unchanged.
The WAX service will make an additional westbound call at Abidjan and discontinue calls in South Africa and Nigeria.
The port rotation will be: Shanghai – Ningbo – Chiwan – Nansha – Tanjung Pelepas – Singapore – Walvis Bay – Cotonou – Abidjan – Douala – Abidjan – Pointe Noire – Colombo – Singapore – Shanghai.
The service will offer a transit time of 37 days from Shanghai, and will be operated by 12 4,350 TEU vessels.
The WAX3 service will add a call in South Africa and will be operated by 12 4,500 TEU vessels.
The port rotation will be: Xiamen – Shanghai – Ningbo – Nansha – Singapore – Tanjung Pelepas – Cape Town – Apapa – Tin Can/Lagos – Onne – Apapa – Tanjung Pelepas – Xiamen.
The AFEX service, which will be operated by 12 4,350 TEU vessels, will call at Cotonou instead of Abidjan.
The port rotation will be: Shanghai – Ningbo – Fuqing/Fuzhou – Nansha – Singapore – Tanjung Pelepas – Lome – Tema – Cotonou – Walvis Bay – Tanjung Pelepas – Shanghai.