A unique service linking Northern Europe with the east coast of the USA, Central America, the Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand is to add DP World London Gateway Port to its rota of calls.
The CMA CGM Group, a world leader in container shipping, and Seatrade Group, specialist in reefer transport, have announced the creation of a new vessel-sharing agreement incorporating the services known by CMA CGM as PAD and by Seatrade as Meridian.
This new service brings together CMA CGM, Seatrade and Marfret and improves their frequency and port coverage, adding Peru and the Caribbean to the above list.
The launch of the service, the only one on the market to offer such coverage on a weekly basis, is scheduled for October 2017, subject to validation by the competent authorities.
It will involve 13 modern geared ships with a nominal capacity between 2200 and 2500 TEUs (20-foot equivalent: the standard measurement of a shipping container). Each vessel will have minimum 600 reefers on board in order to transport refrigerated goods such as fruits or meat.
Among the ports included in the service are Brisbane, Sydney, New York, Rotterdam, Dunkerque, Philadelphia, Napier and Zeebrugge as well as London Gateway which is located 10 miles from the M25 and has a rail terminal providing direct services daily to all of the UK’s major rail freight hubs.
