Freight Transport

CMA CGM will optimise its services operated in partnership with Hamburg Süd and Hapag Lloyd on the North Europe / Caribbean / West Coast of South America routes

From January 2009, the three partners will deploy eight 1,700-2,000 TEU vessels within the jointly operated ES 2 service, offering weekly coverage of the following ports: Rotterdam > Hamburg > Antwerp > Le Havre > Port of Spain > La Guairá > Puerto Cabello > Willemstad > Cartagena > Manzanillo (Panama) > Guayaquil > Callao > Paita > Guayaquil > Manzanillo (Panama) > Cartagena > Caucedo > Rotterdam

CMA CGM will provide two geared container vessels in the fleet

Parallel to this development, the cooperation between the three container shipping lines will be reinforced on the two other weekly slings covering the region:

• ECS: 100% CMA CGM operated service linking North Europe, the Caribbean and Central America
• ES1: Hapag Lloyd and Hamburg Süd jointly operated service linking North Europe, the Caribbean, Peru and Chile

"This new agreement allows CMA CGM to directly operate vessels between North Europe and the West Coast of South America via Panama," said Sabrina Youbi, line manager in charge of these services

According to Laurent Falguière, vice president of Caribbean & Latin America lines, the service enhancement is another major step in the Group's continued development in South America as a whole, and on the West Coast in particular, and enables CMA CGM to meet the growing demand on these trades, especially for the transport of refrigerated cargo

In addition to direct calls in Peru and Ecuador, ES 2 will offer excellent transit times between North Europe and Venezuela

The first sailing from Rotterdam is scheduled on January 12th, 2009