MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company has announced that as response to the decline in demand amid COVID-19, the seasonal blanking programme on its Asia–Europe network – which started in April – will be extended during the summer period, the company said in its release.
Two MSC services – Dragon (Asia-Mediterranean) and Swan (Asia-North Europe) – will not be reinstated until further notice.
However, in order to accommodate the small, gradual recovery in cargo volume at this stage, MSC announced the introduction of the Griffin service, operated as a single hybrid fortnightly service spanning a combination of Asia-Mediterranean and Asia-North Europe port calls.
The Griffin service is scheduled to start in the second half of June with the following rotation:
Shanghai – Ningbo – Yantian – Singapore – Tanjung Pelepas – Port Said – Rotterdam – Antwerp – Singapore – Ningbo
The service is being deployed to ease ongoing supply chain disruption from the impact of COVID-19. However, it will only sail if demand is gradually growing.