Evergreen alters Asia-E Africa services to avoid port congestion

EVERGREEN Line has announced that it is adjusting its existing Asia-East Africa (AEF) service jointly operated with Cosco and X-Press Feeders, as well as entering into a slot exchange agreement with CMA CGM and Emirates Shipping Line on their ASEA service.

The Taiwan shipping line said in a statement that this increased cooperation with its service partners will double its sailing frequency on the Asia-East Africa trade to twice weekly, with the AEF service dedicated to Mombasa (Kenya) and the ASEA service dedicated to Dar es Salaam (Tanzania).

The company said: "The arrangement will help reduce the impact of port congestion in East Africa and enhance the service performance."

Starting from the Singapore sailing on December 6, the port rotation for the AEF service will be Port Klang, Tanjung Pelepas, Singapore, Colombo, Mombasa and back to Port Klang.

The route is operated by five vessels ranging in size from 2,500 to 2,800 TEU, with three of the ships contributed by Evergreen, one by Cosco and the other by X-Press Feeders.

Effective as of the Singapore sailing on December 9, the port rotation for the ASEA service will be: Tanjung Pelepas, Port Klang, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Singapore.

Six vessels of 2,500-2,800 TEU are used to run the ASEA service, four of which are provided by CMA CGM and two by Emirates Shipping Line.

The major ports in East Africa will be connected to Evergreen's global network via its transshipment hubs in Tanjung Pelepas, Singapore and Colombo.