CMA CGM expands India-Africa service rotation

CMA CGM expands India-Africa service rotationCMA CGM has upgraded the port rotation of its Swahili Express Service between India and Africa as the French liner spots further growth potential on a lane dominated by reefer movements.

The weekly loop, operated in conjunction with Emirates Shipping Line with a fleet of five vessels, will have an additional northbound call at Mombasa, Kenya, for exports and a new port call at Djibouti. The Marseilles-based company said the upgraded itinerary would provide new transport options for Indian shippers and dramatically shorten transit times for export cargo from East Africa to North Europe, the Mediterranean, and the United States.

The changes are scheduled to take effect with a July 12 sailing of the CMA CGM Mane, voyage 2162 SN, from Dar es Salaam, according to a CMA CGM trade advisory.

The new rotation is as follows: Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Mundra, India; Khor al Fakkan, Oman; Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates; Mombasa, Kenya; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Mombasa (export call northbound); Djibouti, and back to JNPT.

The liner promises cargo delivery to Felixstowe from Mombasa in 29 days, Hamburg in 31 days, Genoa in 25 days, Port Said (East) in 25 days, and New York in 29 days.

Further, the service improvements would also facilitate connecting Dijbouti to JNPT in five days, Mundra in eight days, and Jebel Ali in 12 days. “The aid cargo from Djibouti to Mogadishu (Somalia) will benefit from an excellent transit time of 25 days,” the advisory stated.

The move follows on the heels of rival Maersk Line revamping its India-Africa service network with a new dedicated service and an enhanced Middle East-South Africa-West Africa service rotation that began operating in May.

Those supply chain improvements could be a boon to ongoing government efforts to double India-Africa trade, from reportedly $52 billion in fiscal year 2016 to 2017, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to that region.

Freight rates from JNPT to Mombasa are currently hovering around $600 per TEU and $1,000 per FEU, and to Dar es Salaam, about $650 per TEU and $1,250 per FEU, according to a JOC.com market analysis.

Buoyed by a rebound in India’s export-import trade on the back of heavy infrastructure investments and reform measures, which gained further steam with a July 1 Goods and Services Tax (GST) rollout, dominant container lines have been setting up new services, independently or through alliances, in major trades to and from the emerging economy. The most recent announcement was a five-vessel joint operation between Cosco Shipping Lines, CMA CGM, and APL, calling Khorfakkan, Karachi, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Djibouti, Jeddah, Damietta, Piraeus, Malta, Aliaga, Mersin, Port Said West, and back to Khorfakkan.

CMA CGM has upgraded the port rotation of its Swahili Express Service between India and Africa as the French liner spots further growth potential on a lane dominated by reefer movements. The weekly loop, operated in conjunction with Emirates Shipping Line with a fleet of five vessels, will have an additional northbound call at Mombasa, Kenya, for exports and a new port call at Djibouti.

The Marseilles-based company said the upgraded itinerary would provide new transport options for Indian shippers and dramatically shorten transit times for export cargo from East Africa to North Europe, the Mediterranean, and the United States.

The changes are scheduled to take effect with a July 12 sailing of the CMA CGM Mane, voyage 2162 SN, from Dar es Salaam, according to a CMA CGM trade advisory. The new rotation is as follows: Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Mundra, India; Khor al Fakkan, Oman; Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates; Mombasa, Kenya; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Mombasa (export call northbound); Djibouti, and back to JNPT.

The liner promises cargo delivery to Felixstowe from Mombasa in 29 days, Hamburg in 31 days, Genoa in 25 days, Port Said (East) in 25 days, and New York in 29 days. Further, the service improvements would also facilitate connecting Dijbouti to JNPT in five days, Mundra in eight days, and Jebel Ali in 12 days.

“The aid cargo from Djibouti to Mogadishu (Somalia) will benefit from an excellent transit time of 25 days,” the advisory stated. The move follows on the heels of rival Maersk Line revamping its India-Africa service network with a new dedicated service and an enhanced Middle East-South Africa-West Africa service rotation that began operating in May.

Those supply chain improvements could be a boon to ongoing government efforts to double India-Africa trade, from reportedly $52 billion in fiscal year 2016 to 2017, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to that region. Freight rates from JNPT to Mombasa are currently hovering around $600 per TEU and $1,000 per FEU, and to Dar es Salaam, about $650 per TEU and $1,250 per FEU, according to a JOC.com market analysis.

Buoyed by a rebound in India’s export-import trade on the back of heavy infrastructure investments and reform measures, which gained further steam with a July 1 Goods and Services Tax (GST) rollout, dominant container lines have been setting up new services, independently or through alliances, in major trades to and from the emerging economy. The most recent announcement was a five-vessel joint operation between Cosco Shipping Lines, CMA CGM, and APL, calling Khorfakkan, Karachi, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Djibouti, Jeddah, Damietta, Piraeus, Malta, Aliaga, Mersin, Port Said West, and back to Khorfakkan.

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