CMA CGM has launched its new KILIMA service. The company described it as a standalone weekly direct service from China to Kenya and Tanzania, with the first call at Mombasa taking place on 24 August.
According to the official announcement, the service rotation includes Shanghai, Ningbo, Guangzhou (Nansha), Singapore, Colombo, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, before returning to Singapore and Shanghai.
The KILIMA service offers full coverage of Asian ports through transshipment in Singapore. Colombo is included in the rotation to connect trade to and from East Africa and to handle volumes from India’s East Coast.
Cargo for the Maldives is to be served from Colombo through the dedicated Male Shuttle, with the first departure scheduled for 25 August 2025.
Relay services will be provided via Mombasa, covering Zanzibar, Tanga, Longoni and Tamatave through the KARIBU service, while Port Victoria, Mogadishu, Nacala and the Comoros will be served in relay via Lamu with the NOURA and KARIBU services.
The new service also provides inland connectivity to Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
CMA CGM stated that the service will be operated with eight vessels ranging from 3,500 to 5,000 TEU, with the CMA CGM TARRAGONA of 4,231 TEU making the inaugural voyage in early August.
X-Press Feeders will take slots on the new service, following the cancellation of its allocation on CMA CGM’s ASEA-Tanzania loop.