DENMARK's Maersk Line is withdrawing in December one port call to Shanghai and another to Chiwan in Shenzhen, a decision prompted by severe congestion at the mainland China ports.
"Our network is constantly being reviewed for improved reliability and commercial effectiveness," American Shipper quoted Maersk as saying.
"We can confirm we are currently omitting one call in Shanghai and Shenzhen, respectively. This is due to recent frequent operational omissions in these ports - with the aim of improving our schedule reliability. Maersk Line has a very comprehensive service network covering both ports and remain dedicated to serving them with fully competitive products."
According to Container Management, Maersk would remove the port calls from its AE2 and AE11 services. "From December 21, AE11 will not call at Chiwan in Shenzhen and from December 22, Maersk's AE2 service will no longer call at Shanghai," the media outlet said.
Maersk Line operates 30 services that call at Shanghai and 13 of its services call at Chiwan, data compiled by BlueWater Reporting shows.