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CMA CGM Group announced the launch of a new service, named Bangladesh India Gulf Express (BIGEX).

The French shipping company said it will be the first direct service that will connect Bangladesh to the Gulf’s Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi, as well as Nhava Sheva and Mundra in India.

BIGEX will begin operating from the port of Chittagong in Bangladesh on 5 April.

Three 1,700-TEU vessels will be deployed on the westbound rotation, Chittagong (Bangladesh) – Colombo (Sri Lanka) – Mangalore (India) – Nhava Sheva (India) – Mundra (India), and on the eastbound rotation, Jebel Ali (UAE) – Khalifa Port (UAE).

CMA CGM noted that the introduction of BIGEX charts the Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Gulf corridor, transforming Bangladesh’s sea lane to the Gulf and India West Coast.

“Characterised by fast transit times, exports from Chittagong will reach Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi in just 14 and 15 days respectively. A more efficient and greener alternative to trucking, BIGEX will get Bangladesh shipments to Nhava Sheva and Mundra in 8 and 10 days respectively,” pointed out the Marseille-based box line.

BIGEX also intends to broaden Chittagong’s access to transshipment centres beyond major Asian ports to include the Gulf and India’s West Coast ports. This broadens market access and shortens transit times, such as for US-bound Bangladesh goods transmitted through Colombo, according to the carrier.

Source: Container News

CMA CGM is actively advancing its tech-enabled services for Indian hinterland customers as they constantly seek supply chain improvements.

The Marseille-based liner has added a string of four busy northern inland container depots (ICDs) to its ‘digital forwarding system’ that it had piloted at two northern India locations in April.

“Effective 3 October 2022, CMA CGM will be introducing the implementation of the digital forwarding note or Form-11 via the ODex platform in the ICDs of Ludhiana, Jodhpur, Kanpur and Jaipur,” CMA CGM Agencies India said in a trade advisory.

The company added, “For two weeks, manual forwarding note will also be issued parallelly so that users can familiarize themselves with the new process. Thereafter, respective ICD CMA appointed surveyor will accept only the digital forwarding note.”

ODex is a provider of export/import shipping documentation services. CMA CGM customers using the ICDs at Tughlakhabad (TKD) and at Dadri have already onboarded this digital platform. However, reefer shipments continue to be handled under the manual processing method, the company said.

The French carrier believes paperless transactions would significantly speed up the flow of railed cargo, as there is a growing, co-ordinated stakeholder push towards reducing high dependency on the traditional trucking mode.

Additionally, all major carriers serving Indian trades have been fielding more block train offerings as part of their broader integrator strategies and multi-modal contract arrangements.

In addition, CMA CGM (India) recently began using the tech platform MatchBox Exchange to provide empty container reuse/exchange solutions for its customers. Here, it is noted that stakeholders have an opportunity to optimise landside logistics and save on their costs with the elimination of needless container trips to empty storage yards.

CMA CGM is a leading operator of containerised ocean services to/from India, covering some 50 inland locations and offering more than a dozen weekly mainline services out of seven gateway and seven feeder ports.

Aiming to standardise data exchange processes and bring greater visibility across the supply chain, Indian logistics policymakers are also strongly encouraging transport stakeholders to move away from tedious, paper-based documentation towards digital solutions that drives value for trade.

New Delhi’s recently released new “national logistics policy (NLP)” reiterates that intent, as it called for standardisation of documentation processes and adoption of single-window systems under a “unified logistics interface platform (ULIP).”

“The focal push for digitisation through platforms like ULIP and E-LogS is crucial to support the designed ‘services improvement framework’ in improving regulatory inter-operability, standardisation of logistic processes and in bringing the entire multimodal network onto a single digital dashboard, enhancing visibility and transparency for all stakeholders,” said DP World Indian Subcontinent CEO, Rizwan Soomar.

“The suggested Services Improvement Group will significantly bolster coordination across governance frameworks to energise the logistics chains to contribute geometrically in the PM GATI Shakti National Master Plan, improving efficiency and reducing logistics costs,” he added.

Shashi Kiran Shetty, founder and chairman of Mumbai-based Allcargo Group, noted, “The launch of NLP is a visionary move by the government which will bring transparency through digital integration in addition to boosting speed and efficiency.”

Shetty went on to say, “It will enable fast-paced logistics infrastructure development, better coordination among multiple stakeholders, simplify processes and documentation and boost last-mile connectivity.”

Source: Container News

Four of the new boxships will have 7,300 TEU capacity and the other three vessels will have 7,900 TEU capacity, while all the ships will have 1,385 reefer plugs.

The newbuildings will be delivered gradually as of 2024 and are expected to serve Guadeloupe and Martinique, replacing smaller ships dedicated to routes between the French West Indies, France and Europe.

Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and chief executive officer of the CMA CGM Group, made the announcement about the rollout of the seven new container ships during a trip to Martinique and Guadeloupe.

In order to cope with these larger capacity vessels, the CMA CGM Group said it will help to modernise and increase the capacity of the biggest shipping ports in Guadeloupe and Martinique, as well as making wharfs larger.

The Marseille-based box line noted it operates dedicated shipping lines to Guadeloupe and Martinique and is involved in structural actions to help boost the local economy.

Source: Container News

CMA CGM has announced the launch of its new MEDGULF service, aiming to offer full coverage from West Mediterranean to US Gulf and Mexico.

The service will commence at the end of September and will be operated by six container vessels.

The port rotation of MEDGULF service will be Tanger (Morocco), Genoa (Italy), Valencia (Spain), Miami (US), Veracruz (Mexico), Altamira (Mexico), Houston (US), Tanger

The first departure will be on 29 September from the port of Genoa.

The French carrier said the new service will offer competitive transit times from Turkey, Adriatic, Black Sea & North Africa via Valencia and improved transit times from Indian Subcontinent via Tanger (29 days to Miami).

“This improvement of CMA CGM’s offering with this exclusive service between West Med, US Gulf & Mexico reinforces the Group’s global coverage in order to meet customers’ expectations and needs,” commented the Marseille-based box line in a statement.

Source: Container News

French container line CMA CGM has implemented a hefty surcharge on overweight containerised shipments moving from India to the US and Canada.

20-foot standard containers weighing over 20 MT, including the weight of the box, now attract a penalty of US$1,000 per TEU until further notice, the carrier noted in a new customer advisory.

“This is in addition to any existing surcharge/rules applicable with inland point movement,” CMA CGM (India) said. “The charges are in addition to any existing tariff rate restoration initiatives.”

According to market sources, other liners active in the India-US trade are also penalising customers for overweight shipments.

The move comes as freight rates on the same trade lane are set to climb up again with fresh general rate increase (GRI) and peak season surcharge announcements, mostly slated to take effect in early August, after somewhat steady pricing trends over the past couple of months.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) and Hapag-Lloyd have already issued GRI notices for next month.

However, it remains to be seen if carriers will be able to hold firm on their planned rate hike initiatives amid demand slowdown signs.

Meanwhile, in an apparent move to mitigate the impact of ongoing schedule disruptions that have become more pronounced on India-Europe connections, MSC earlier this week deployed an extra-loader vessel out of Nhava Sheva (JNPT) and Mundra, with onward stops at Colombo, Singapore, Port Klang and Laem Chabang.

The lingering crisis plaguing Sri Lanka seems to have tightened equipment availability for southern Indian ports because of excessive container turnaround delays.

“While Sri Lanka takes its time to recover from the economic crisis, the Indian ports continue to see its impact,” equipment market analyst Container xChange noted in its recent report. “There has been a 25% shortage of containers at the Chennai Port, which has made it face a rise in shipping costs. With the trade routes between Asia and the US as well as Asia and Europe opening, the shipping industry in the country is struggling to keep up with the gap between container demand and supply.”

The analyst added, “The Container Availability Index also observed the slowed down container movement in Colombo. In the last few weeks, the CAx score for 20DC containers at Colombo has been over 0.5 with week 26 standing at 0.57. This again is a reconfirmation of the fact that the number of containers leaving the port is less as compared to those entering.”

Source: Container News