Prolific Demand Pushes CMA CGM to Increase Capacity between Asia and Europe
The increase in demand for shipping services between Asia and Europe has been termed as “unprecedented”
Q4 2020 has witnessed French shipping conglomerate CMA CGM ramping up its line-up assigned between Asia and Europe by 6 %, as compared to the same period last year in 2019. This addition in capacity, as reported by Seatrade Maritime News, is expected to continue in the first quarter of 2021 as well, where the ramp-up is likely to be 10 % more than Q4 2020.
This surge in shipping lines between Asia and Europe would be fulfilled by a brand spanking new line-up of as many as nine 23,000-teu LNG-powered containerships – of which three are already operational. Further, there would be two more loaders with 9,000-teu capacity added to the tally later this month. These will operate exclusively between China and France as well as the Netherlands.
An official company news release on this development has also affirmed that both the FAL 1 as well as the FAL 3 lines of the company will have no blank sailing departures under any circumstances.
CMA CGM has taken additional measures to ensure speedy movement of containers on these routes, especially on the return journey back to Asia – when these containers are empty. In the same breath, steps have been taken to ensure that there is minimal time spent at ports by these ships.
