News / Maersk to launch new Caribbean-Europe network, with bigger ships

Photo: APM Terminals

Maersk Line is set to replace two of its standalone Caribbean-Europe services with a dedicated new service using the Gemini network.

The carrier told customers today its new Europe-Caribbean CAX service, as well as an expanded Europe-South America west coast CLX route, would replace the CRX and COEX services, which will be phased out during Q3.

“The CAX will offer efficient, direct products from key reefer ports in the Caribbean, with seamless connections to and from our expansive ocean network via our hubs in Panama,” it said.

“The service will maintain direct coverage of main ports in North Europe and offer improved feeder connectivity.”

The CAX port rotation is: Antwerp-Southampton-Hamburg-Bremerhaven-Newark-Manzanillo (Panama)-Puerto Antioquia (Turbo)-Puerto Moin-Manzanillo (Panama).

However, Maersk noted that while construction of the new container terminal at the Colombian port of Turbo, the country’s chief gateway for tropical fruit exports, remained under way, it would be served by feeder from Manzanillo.

Construction of the offshore Puerto Antioquia terminal, by CMA CGM-majority owned Puerto Bahia Colombia de Uraba, is set to open its first phase in the coming months, and will add 600,000 teu of container handling capacity to the port.

Although full deployment details have not been revealed, the new CAX service will launch with the northbound departure of the 5,560 teu Maersk Monet Linzor from the APM Terminals facility at Moin on 26 September. The initial southbound sailing will be by the 4,000 teu Maersk Monte Alto from Antwerp on 29 September.

These two ships are currently deployed on Maersk’s North America-South America Tango and Gemini transatlantic AL1 services respectively, and their move to the CAX suggests the carrier is going to significantly upsize its vessels on the trade. Both the CRX and COEX utilise much smaller vessels, according to the eeSea liner database, with an average capacity of 2,500 teu and 3,200 teu respectively.

The end of the CRX will also mean that Irish fruit importers through Cork will lose their one deepsea connection to the region, leaving Cork’s shippers with six feeder services to Northern Europe and the transatlantic service operated by Independent Container Line.

Maersk added that shippers using the CRX to access Mexico’s Gulf ports of Veracruz and Altamira could use the Gemini’s transatlantic AL4 service instead. In addition, it will introduce a call at the Colombian port of Santa Marta on the CLX service to make up for the closure of the COEX string.

Its Europe-South America west coast Ecumed service will remain unchanged.