Hapag-Lloyd has updated its Atlantic Loop 6 (AL6) service which connects the Mediterranean to the US East Coast.
The service will now omit US ports on a bi-weekly pattern, following a structure of:
- First week: All Mediterranean ports will be covered, including Algeciras, Livorno, Genoa, Fos-sur-Mer, Barcelona, and Valencia. In the USA, Norfolk, Savannah, and Miami will all be reached. New York will be omitted
- Second week: All listed Mediterranean ports will still be covered but, in the USA, the service will only dock in New York.
The rotation change will come into effect from the beginning of May 2022 and aims to improve Hapag-Lloyd’s service schedule reliability. This comes as vessel queues along the East Coast continue to mount up.
On 25 February, shipping expert Lars Jensen revealed in a social media post that 31 ships were waiting to berth outside the Port of Charleston, a record high.
The first ship that will present this change is the MV CMA CGM Dalila V. 013W that will be omitting New York.
Last month, the shipping line also announced it is directly connecting South China and North Europe with its new China Germany Express (CGX) service.
A total of eight Panamax vessels will operate on the service from its launch at the beginning of April.
