Maersk ending U.S. East Coast/East Med loop
Maersk Line said Tuesday it will end its weekly transatlantic East Med service by the fourth quarter, with cargo from that service being transferred to its MECL services linking the U.S. East Coast with the Mediterranean, Middle East and Indian subcontinent via the Suez Canal. The East Med service has used seven ships in the 1,900-TEU to 2,500-TEU range. The full port rotation of the service, in which German line Hapag-Lloyd takes space, is: Alexandria, Haifa, Izmir, Gioia Tauro, New York, Norfolk, Savannah, Cagliari and back to Alexandria. To facilitate the cargo transfer from the East Med to MECL services, the Danish carrier is adding calls at Port Said in Egypt to the two MECL services. Port Said is one of Maersk's transshipment centers operated by sister company APM Terminals and will feed cargo to and from Izmir, Haifa, and other East Mediterranean ports.