A.P. Moller-Maersk has announced several changes to its services between the Far East and Africa.
The Danish carrier said the updated FEW (Far East-West Africa) services will provide improved connection, increased reliability, and shorter transit times, while a new Cape Town Express service will connect South Africa.
The following new rotations for FEW2, FEW3, and FEW6 services will be effective from the first week of December.
In addition, Maersk will launch a new feeder service, Cape Town Express, which will be linked to the updated SAFARI service.
The updated services will be as follows:
Updated FEW2 Service
Rotation: Singapore - Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia) - Lome (Togo) - Apapa (Nigeria) - Onne (Nigeria) - Cotonou (Benin) - Singapore
Updated FEW3 Service
Qingdao (China) – Kwangyang (South Korea) – Shanghai (China) – Ningbo (China) – Shekou (China) – Nansha (China) – Singapore (Asia) – Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia)– Tema (Ghana) – Lekki (Nigeria) – Abidjan (Ivory Coast) – Pointe Noire (Congo) – Colombo (Sri Lanka) – Singapore (Asia) – Xiamen (China) – Qingdao (China)
The current FEW1 service will be discontinued and coverage will be moved to the FEW3 service.
Updated FEW6 Service
Qingdao (China) – Shanghai (China) – Ningbo (China) – Nansha (China) – Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia) – Singapore (Asia) – Pointe Noire (Congo) – Kribi (Cameroon) – Luanda (Angola) – Walvis Bay (Namibia) – Singapore (Asia) – Qingdao (China)
The delinking of Cape Town coverage is an important change to this service
New Cape Town Express Service
Port Louis (Maurice) – Cape Town (South Africa) – Port Louis (Maurice)
The removal of Cape Town from the FEW6 leads to the creation of a brand-new service, the Cape Town Express, directly connecting Port Louis with Cape Town, while in Port Louis, there will be connectivity from and to Asia using the Safari service.
"We are witnessing rapid growth in the African markets where not only is the higher consumption creating a more robust demand for goods, but it reflects the resilience of the African economy," pointed out Bhavan Vempati, head of the market of Maersk Indian Subcontinent in the Middle East, and Africa.
He went on to say, "In today’s market conditions, it has become imperative for us to deliver a resilient and reliable product to customers. Our ambition is to deliver a competitive advantage to our customers and be future-ready through all the changes we are announcing today."
