CMA CGM upgrades its Asia – Africa network

November 14, 2023

French carrier CMA CGM announced the revamping of its services connecting Asia with West and South Africa, effective from the first week of December.

CMA CGM’s WAX service will now be dedicated to Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, with an enhanced fleet, while WAX3 service will continue to serve Togo and Nigeria. Additionally, the Shaka service will provide transshipment service to Cape Town via Port Louis.

The Marseille-based box line said it will provide direct services from North, Center, and South China to West Africa’s biggest markets in Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon via its updated services.

Details of the updated services

WAX service will be operated by 13 vessels of 14,000 TEU capacity and will be offered in 91 days.

The updated rotation of the WAX service will be Xiamen (China) – Qingdao (China) – Gwangyang (South Korea) – Shanghai (China) – Ningbo (China) – Shekou (China) – Nansha (China) – Singapore – Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia) – Tema (Ghana) – Lekki (Nigeria) – Abidjan (Ivory Coast) – Pointe Noire (Congo) – Colombo (Sri Lanka) – Singapore – Xiamen.

Transit times:

From/To	Tema	Lekki	Abidjan	Pointe Noire
Qingdao	41 days	45 days	48 days	55 days
Shanghai	36 days	41 days	44 days	51 days
Ningbo	35 days	39 days	42 days	49 days
Shekou	31 days	36 days	39 days	46 days
Nansha	29 days	34 days	37 days	44 days
Singapore	23 days	27 days	30 days	37 days
Tanjung Pelepas	21 days	26 days	29 days	36 days

The WAX3 service will be offered in 70 days, with ten 4,500 TEU container ships.

The rotation of the service will be Singapore – Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia) – Lome (Togo) – Apapa (Nigeria) – Onne (Nigeria) – Cotonou (Benin) – Singapore.

Transit times:

From/To	Lome	Apapa	Onne	Cotonou
Singapore	26 days	28 days	32 days	38 days
Tanjung Pelepas	23 days	25 days	29 days	35 days

With 12 vessels of 8,500 TEU box capacity, the ASAF service will be offered in 84 days.

The rotation of ASAF service will be Qingdao (China) – Shanghai (China) – Ningbo (China) – Nansha (China) – Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia) – Singapore – Pointe Noire (Congo) – Kribi (Cameroon) – Luanda (Angola) – Walvis Bay (Namibia) – Singapore – Qingdao.

Transit times:

From/To	Pointe Noire	Kribi	Luanda	Walvis Bay
Qingdao	37 days	41 days	46 days	54 days
Shanghai	35 days	39 days	43 days	51 days
Ningbo	33 days	37 days	42 days	50 days
Nansha	30 days	34 days	38 days	46 days
Tanjung Pelepas	25 days	29 days	33 days	41 days
Singapore	23 days	27 days	31 days	39 days

Additionally, the SHAKA service will be available in 63 days, with nine vessels of 9,300 TEU container capacity.

SHAKA service’s updated port rotation will be Shanghai (China) – Ningbo (China) – Shekou (China) – Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia) – Port Louis (Mauritius) – Durban (South Africa) – Port Louis – Tanjung Pelepas – Shanghai.