Copenhagen: Denmark's Maersk Line is planning changes to its Asia Europe service from February and March 2008 which, it says, will provide customers with more cost-effective, robust and reliable services. As well as introducing four new vessels, the line is planning to cut service speeds. The move follows a similar initiative by French carrier CMA CGM which recently cut its ship speeds from 25 to 20 knots. The combination of new tonnage and speed cuts will mean that Maersk adds 12% of extra capacity on the route in 2008, compared with its originally intended 17%.
Blaming port congestion and its escalating impact on its ability to provide reliable services to its customers, Maersk says the extra four ships will enable it to incorporate extra "buffer time" into its schedules. And of course, the changes will save on bunkers. "In the last 12 months, our bunker costs have more than doubled", the carrier notes. "While selected corridors will experience a day or two more in transit time, we overall expect to offer a better service reliability," Maersk says. [05/12/07]
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