CMA CGM upgrades ACSA service

CMA CGM recently announced the upgrading and reinforcement of its ACSA service linking Asia to Mexico, Central America and the West Coast of South America.

This new configuration will enable CMA CGM to consolidate its presence in the Asia / Mexico / Central and South America trade through the following enhancements:

Faster transit times between Asia, Mexico, and South America (connections between Chile and Hong Kong reduced by 7 days and between Mexico and Shanghai by 9 days). Instead of a single rotation, the service will now be operated on two distinct loops, with Loop 1 servicing Mexico, Peru and Chile from Asia, and Loop 2 Mexico, Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica), Colombia and Ecuador,

New westbound calls to Yokohama (Japan) and Keelung (Taiwan) to meet the growing demand for refrigerated goods from Mexico and South America to the Asian continent,

A high-performance fleet and a unique capacity offer, with the deployment of 11 x 6,500 TEU vessels on Loop 1 (including 3 x CMA CGM) and 10 x 4,200 TEU vessels on Loop 2 (including 3 x CMA CGM).

This enhanced service will be operated in partnership with CSAV and CSCL.

The booming market between Asia and South America requires that CMA CGM be very responsive in meeting our customers demands. With this new configuration, CMA CGM will provide a significantly upgraded service with the introduction of 6,500 TEU containerships, the biggest vessels ever deployed in this market, but also improved transit times for the transport of refrigerated goods particularly sensitive to travel times. explained Jean-Yves Duval, Director Central and South America Caribbean Lines, CMA CGM.

The new ACSA service should start its first rotation at the end of April 2011. <Korea Shipping Gazette>