News / MSC unveils new Mediterranean-North America transatlantic network

Photo: VesselFinder

With little over half a year to go until the dissolution of Maersk Line and MSC’s 2M partnership, the Geneva-headquartered carrier is reorganising its standalone transatlantic services between the Mediterranean and North America.

From the beginning of next month, MSC will merge its two Mediterranean-Canada strings – Canex1 and Canex2 – into one service.

“Renamed the Med Canadian Service, this new set-up aims to integrate our two Mediterranean to Canada trade routes into an all-in-one strengthened service,” it said.

According to the eeSea liner database, MSC’s Canex1 currently deploys five vessels, with an average size of 4,600 teu, in a weekly loop of  Naples-Gioia Tauro-Sines-Halifax-Montreal.

Canex2 service also deploys five ships, with an average capacity of 4,000 teu, on a roration of Barcelona-Valencia-Halifax-Montreal-Sines-Livorno-Genoa.

The new Med Canadian Service will offer a rotation of Gioia Tauro-Naples-Livorno-Genoa-Valencia-Sines-Halifax-Montreal, indicating that only a call at Barcelona is due to be dropped.

MSC added that the merged service would also result in fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

“As demand grows for more efficiency and fewer supply chain emissions, consolidating cargo onto a single line not only drives operational efficiency, but also helps reduce CO2 emissions,” it said.

Barcelona is currently suffering from high levels of congestion, and it is likely MSC would prefer to see ex-Spain shipments funnelled through its Valencia hub.

Details of the vessels on the new service have yet to be fully released, but MSC said it would launch with the 4,200 teu MSC Tamara departing Gioia Tauro on 4 July. The vessel is currently assigned to the Canex1 service.

Meanwhile, a new call at Barcelona is to be added to MSC’s new EMUSA service, which will replace its Turkey/West Med-US service, which deploys nine ships with an average capacity of 6,000 teu. A new call at the French gateway of Fos has also been added, MSC said.

“The new set-up will connect Mediterranean and US trade by adding unique and direct coverage from Barcelona, Spain and Fos-sur-Mer, France.

“These new calls in Barcelona and Fos-sur-Mer will further expand our transatlantic coverage and increase trade connectivity between Europe and the United States.” it said,

The EMUSA port rotation is: Tekirdag-Gebze-Aliaga-Haifa-Fos-Barcelona-Valencia-Sines-Boston-New York-Philadelphia-Savannah.

This means calls at the east and central Mediterranean transhipment hubs of Piraeus and Gioia Tauro have been dropped and a new call at Valencia added, while on the US east coast, calls at Norfolk, Baltimore and Port Everglades have been dropped, as well as a backhaul transhipment call at Freeport Bahamas.

The first sailing will be the departure of the 5,000 teu MSC Manzanillo from Fos on 2 July.