Maersk to change Mediterranean - North America vessel

Maersk Line announced a change to the WestMed service in the Mediterranean to North America trade.

Maersk Line will replace its 5,000 TEU vessels with 2,900 TEU vessels. This change comes as a result of the discontinuation of slot purchases by APL and Hapag Lloyd onboard the WestMed. Without the additional cargo of previous Maersk Line partners, less capacity is required on the service. The WestMed will then be right-sized to the current cargo demand.

"We strive to make our products flexible in order to best serve our customers' needs," said Søren Castbak, Senior Director of Atlantic trades for Maersk Line. "We will also continue to look for cost savings wherever possible, and in this case there is no impact to shippers. Here is an example where we must align our network to match customers' volume requirements," he says.

Vessel phase-in will begin during November and continue for several weeks until all five of the effected vessels are replaced with the smaller tonnage. The service will maintain the same rotation, with the recently announced minimal adjustment to transits to accommodate the new schedule. CMA-CGM continues to operate the sixth vessel in the route’s Vessel Sharing Agreement.