Global shipping Giant Maersk Line has announced that it has added a call at the Port of Hamburg in Germany to its Asia-Europe 8 (AE8) service, effectively replacing route's previous European call at the southern UK-based Port of Southampton.
The new AE8 port rotation now consists of Shanghai (China), Ningbo (China), Kaohshiung (Taiwan), Yantian (China), Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia) and Hamburg.
The last AE8 call at Southampton will be made by Maersk Taikung with an estimated arrival date of 19 September, while the service's inaugural call at Hamburg will be made by the Maersk Sarnia on 29 September.
'We believe this will be a valuable addition to our direct services between Taiwan, East and South China and Hamburg,' the group said in a statement.
The UK will continue to be served by four separate direct Asia-Europe services, AE1, AE2, AE9 and AE10, which make direct calls to the Port of Southampton and the Port of Felixstowe.
