DANISH shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk has announced several changes to its services between the Far East and Africa, according to Greece's Container News.

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 rotation of updated FEW2 service is Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia), Lome (Togo, Apapa (Nigeria), Onne (Nigeria), Cotonou (Benin) and retuning to Singapore.

Rotation of the updated FEW3 service is 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) and returning to Qingdao (China).

The current FEW1 service will be discontinued, and coverage will be moved to the FEW3 service.

The updated FEW6 service will 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) and returning to Qingdao (China).

The delinking of Cape Town coverage is an important change to this service.

New Cape Town Express service rotation is Port Louis (Maurice), Cape Town (South Africa), and returning to 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 added: "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."