FRENCH shipping giant CMA CGM is to launch a Straits-Myanmar (Burma) feeder service, using the 642 TEU Morotal, which will connect every 12 days at Yangon (Rangoon) to the hubs at Port Kelang, Tanjung Pelepas and Singapore.

MCC Transport, the APM-Maersk intra Asia arm, will take slots on the service and the first sailing is planned from Port Kelang on July, according to Alphaliner.

CMA CGM already covers Myanmar through slots on the Myanmar feeder service offered by Shanghai Pu Hai Shipping, the regional arm of CSCL.

Interest in Myanmar has increased following its recent political liberalisation. PACC Container Line, the container shipping arm of Singapore's Pacific Carriers Ltd (PCL), and BLPL Container Line, a Singapore-based affiliate of the UAE-headquartered Transworld Group, have launched a joint Singapore-Port Kelang-Yangon feeder service.

The Transworld Group also runs Orient Express Line (OEL) and Shreyas Shipping. The service will connect Singapore to Yangon every five days, using the 1,078-TEU Pac Aquila (provided by PACC) and the 1,030-TEU OEL Blessing (from BLPL-OEL).