05.05.2011 - Bremerhaven . New Far East-Europe service.

Bremerhaven can once again demonstrate its role as a premier port of call for the world’s biggest container ships and a major hub for the Far East route. With immediate effect, the “Silk” service operated by MSC, Mediterranean Shipping Company, will call every week at Bremerhaven container terminal’s “Stromkaje” container pier. Established in 1996, the scheduled service operates a total of eleven vessels with an average capacity of 14,000 TEUs. It links all major Chinese ports with Germany. 

The first ship in the new rotation to tie up today is the MSC Daniela. The jumbo container carrier can load up to 14,000 standard containers (TEUs) and with a length of 366 metres, a 51-metre beam and a load capacity of 156,100 tonnes reaches a maximum draught of 16 metres. Within the scope of the new service, the world’s largest container vessels will call at Bremerhaven on a regular basis.

The new line is a result of the reorganisation of MSC’s Far East-Europe service. Departing from Ningbo, Shanghai and Xiamen, the ships will call at Hong Kong and the Shenzhen Ports, Yantian and Chiwan, in addition to Singapore. Before reaching Bremerhaven, other scheduled stops on the “Silk” service route are Antwerp, Felixstowe and the EUROGATE Container Terminal Hamburg. The service is also new to Hamburg, where the first ship tied up yesterday. The next port of call is Rotterdam.

Apart from the “Silk” service, the “Lion” service of the world’s second-largest container line has also undergone reorganisation. MSC anticipates the reorganisation will result in a reduction in transit times of an average seven days. The trip from Shanghai to MSC Gate in Bremerhaven will now take 29 days, as opposed to the previously scheduled 36 days.

Parallel to the two Far East–Europe services, MSC Line has also introduced a new Sweden direct feeder line from the beginning of May. The MSC Asli operates between MSC Gate Bremerhaven and Gothenburg as well as Helsingborg.