French shipping company CMA CGM has announced that it is expanding its range of liner services from Hamburg and including Black Sea ports in its schedule for the first time.
Today (24 February), the CMA CGM Lavender sails on the extended FEMEX 1 Northern Europe-Mediterranean full container service from HHLA Container Terminal Burchardkai in Hamburg.
Passing through the Bosphorus, for the first time the vessel will also be calling at the Black Sea ports of Samsun (Turkey), Novorossiysk (Russia) and Constanta (Rumania), making FEMEX 1 the only container liner service between northern Europe and the Black Sea.
Behind the extension of the liner service inaugurated in March 2013 is the increased demand for seaborne transport between northern Europe and the Black Sea region. Imports and exports via Port of Hamburg for Turkey, focusing heavily on foreign trade, are steadily growing in importance and, Based on a current assessment of different countries, Port of Hamburg Marketing (HHM) is reckoning with 38 per cent growth in seaborne container traffic between Hamburg and ports in Turkey, corresponding to around 75,000 TEU (20ft standard containers).
A total of six vessels with slot capacities of around 2,800 TEU are being deployed on FEMEX 1, with the service linking the ports of Hamburg, Antwerp, Southampton, Tangier, Marsaxlokk, Thessaloniki, Gebze, Istanbul-Ambarli (Avcilar), Istanbul-Haydarpasa, Samsun, Novorossisk, Constanta, Istanbul-Ambarli, Gebze, Gemlik, Aliaga, Marsaxlokk, Tangier and Casablanca, returning directly to Hamburg. The round voyage lasts 42 days.
