On 11 August 2009, the CMA CGM Violet became the first ship of the new joint service to visit the Port of Hamburg.
Built in 2006 at South Korea's Hyundai Mipo dockyard, the container ship of the French shipping company CMA CGM is 222 meters long, 30 meters wide and has a slot capacity of 2,800 TEUs as well as 590 refrigerated container connections. When fully loaded (39,400 dwt) the ship has a maximum draught of 12 meters.
The new venture involves the amalgamation of Hapag-Lloyd's Brazil Express and CMA CGM's Safran service, and will be carried on by a total of six units with an average of 2,800 slots for standard containers (TEUs). Besides the CMA CGM Violet, the French shipping company will be using the CMA CGM Lilac and the Camellia, while Hapag-Lloyd will be contributing the Cape Mahon and Maruba the Maruba Maxima. One more ship is currently being got ready. The Hamburg S'd and Hanjin shipping companies have already booked slots on the service.
Starting from Hamburg, the CMA CGM Violet will be visiting the South American ports of Sepetiba, Navegantes, Paranagua, Santos, Sepetiba / Rio de Janeiro (in alternation) and Salvador, before setting out on its return journey to the Hanseatic Metropolis. The round trip lasts 42 days.
With around a dozen regular services between Hamburg and the east coast of South America, the port on the Elbe occupies a leading position in northern Europe, with something like 305,000 containers (TEUs) handled in the year 2008. Moreover Brazil finished in ninth position in the list of Hamburg's top ten trading partners.
