MSC has cancelled the launch of its new Asia-Med Phoenix service that was originally scheduled to start at the end of February 2025 but have been repeatedly delayed before the service was finally withdrawn altogether in May 2025. The Phoenix service was to turn in 15 weeks using up to 15 ships of 6,000-14,000 teu to call at Busan, Ningbo, Shanghai, Shekou, Singapore, Iskenderun, Piraeus, Trieste, Koper, Iskenderun, Mersin, Singapore, Busan. The Phoenix service was 1 of the 6 Asia-Med services
Kawa Shipping has expanded its coverage to the Red Sea, Egypt and Turkey with a new Eastern Mediterranean Express (EMX) service from March 2025. The service is operated irregularly with connections covering Qingdao, Ningbo, Sokhna, Iskenderun, Mersin, Jeddah, Qingdao. The first sailing was made by the 1,063 teu LAN HAI ZHI YUAN that operated an ad hoc Dubai, Sokhna, Iskenderun, Mersin, Jeddah, Qingdao voyage from 2 March 2025. A second voyage by the 2,076 teu KAWA HONGKONG was launched from Qin
Marsa Ocean Shipping has become the latest carrier to join the Asia-Med trade with the introduction of the 2,466 teu MARSA NEPTUNE to Far East-Mediterranean FEM1 service that is jointly operated by CStar Line, Global Feeder Shipping (GFS) and Uniglobal Shipping (UGL). The Marsa ship will join the FEM1 on 24 February 2025 at Qingdao, with the service to be upgraded to a weekly frequency from its previous irregular sailings. The FEM1 calls at Qingdao, Shanghai, Nansha, Jeddah, Ambarli, Evyap, Jed
FESCO has launched a new FESCO Black Sea service connecting Nansha, Rizhao, Ningbo, Shanghai, Novorossiysk, Nansha from 19 November 2024. The service will tun in 8 weeks and will initially deploy a single ship - the 1,660 teu HT JOURNEY with a second ship scheduled to join the service in February 2024.
CMA CGM has continued to send its Asia-Med ships on the Red Sea/Suez route for its services calling at Lebanon. The 16,022 teu CMA CGM JULES VERNE passed the Bab al-Mandab Strait on a northbound transit on 23 October 2024 without incident. The ship will make a stop at Jeddah and Beirut before resuming its regular Mediterranean Club Express (MEX) stops at Malta, Valencia, Barcelona and Fos before returning to Beirut for a second off-schedule call on 20 November. The ship is scheduled to make anot
The 16,022 teu CMA CGM JULES VERNE has made an eastbound Suez Canal passage on 13 August 2024 and after a stop at Jeddah, the ship passed the Bab al-Mandab Strait on 19 August without any incident. It marks the largest containership to return to the Suez/Red Sea route since February this year, with all the other main carriers still avoiding the passage to avoid attacks on vessels by Houthi militants in Yemen. The CMA CGM JULES VERNE is deployed on the Mediterranean Club Express (MEX) using 15 s
CMA CGM has retained the Suez routing for its Asia-Med Phoenician Express (BEX2) service despite escalating tensions in the Middle East over the past week after Israeli forces attacked the port of Hodeidah in Yemen on 20 July in retaliation for the Houthi drone attack that hit Tel Aviv on 19 July 2024. The Phoenician Express (BEX2) calls at Shanghai, Ningbo, Busan, Shekou, Singapore, (Suez Canal), Alexandria, Beirut, Tripoli, Koper, Trieste, Rijeka, Alexandria, Jeddah, Port Klang, Shekou, Shang
CMA CGM will launch a new French Peak Service that will provide 4 sailings between Asia and North Europe from 30 June 2024 and 3 sailings from Asia to the Mediterranean from 14 July 2024. The North Europe loop of the peak season service will call at Yantian, Cai Mep, Singapore, Le Havre, Antwerp, Yantian starting with the 6,350 teu APL OREGON at Yantian from 30 June 2024 on a 77 day round trip rotation with 4 sailings planned initially, but subsequently reduced to just 2 loaders. The Med loo
CMA CGM has resumed full Suez Canal transits on the Asia-Med Phoenician Express (BEX2) service from the end of April 2024, becoming the first mainstream Asia-Europe service to return to the Suez since the Red Sea crisis escalated in December 2023. The service is one of 4 OCEAN Alliance services on the Asia-Med route and is marketed as the PHOEX/BEX2 by CMA CGM, AEM6 by COSCO, AAS by OOCL and BEX2 by Evergreen. The service was previously operated with a mixed fleet of ships from the 3 OCEAN Alli
Tailwind Shipping has launched 2 new feeder services dubbed as the Dolphin Express (DEX) and Dolphin Express 2 (DEX2) from the end of January 2024. DEX will call at Barcelona, Antwerp, Barcelona with the 804 teu SOLONG from 27 December 2024 and DEX2 will call at Barcelona, Moerdijk, Barcelona with the 1,118 teu WILHELMINE from 26 January 2024 together with the 917 teu FAITH (to be replaced by the 1,267 teu CONTSHIP JET on 11 February 2024). The 2 feeders will provide connections at Barcelona