MSC slows ships, adds Mobile to Latin America-Gulf Coast service

Mediterranean Shipping Co. is adding another ship to a container service between the East Coast of South America and the US Gulf Coast. With the additional vessel, all ships on the service will also start to slow steam to keep effective weekly capacity at its current level.

Additionally, the Port of Mobile will be added to the service as a call, part of a renewed focus by ocean carriers on north-south trade lanes.

MSC said in a statement this week that it will add the 6,900-TEU Athens Glory as an eighth vessel to its Gulf to SAEC String 1. In addition, the service will see a speed reduction of all its vessels, increasing the rotation time from 32 days to 56 days.

The use of slow steaming, which will also reduce emissions, is one method for MSC to absorb more ships coming into its fleet this year without adding more weekly capacity. Along with 730 ships it already operates, MSC is expected to receive 46 additional vessels this year. The carrier’s overall orderbook stands at 31 percent of its current fleet.

“Regardless of the operational changes, capacity will remain unaffected,” MSC said in the statement.

The Brazilian port of Suape will be dropped from the service’s rotation. Along with calls at other major Brazilian ports, the Gulf to SAEC string calls Colombia and Mexico.

Import gains in 2022

Mobile, as well as other Gulf Coast ports, saw strong gains in import volumes last year thanks to new vessel services being added to the region and shippers looking to add new import gateways outside of the West Coast.

In 2022, Mobile’s overall import volumes grew 9.1 percent year on year to 283,618 TEU, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. Total Gulf Coast imports rose 13.9 percent to 2.6 million TEU last year.

More volume growth could come as ocean carriers bring back services that had been cut or otherwise reduced due to widespread port congestion and the boom in trans-Pacific volumes. Last October, CMA CGM brought a north-south service back to a weekly schedule from a fortnightly schedule, along with adding another service from South America to the US Gulf.

Source: Journal of Commerce

To read the original news report, see: https://www.joc.com/article/msc-slows-ships-adds-mobile-latin-america-gulf-coast-service_20230426.html

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