As part of Maersk Line's ongoing efforts they have announced service enhancements between North America and the East Mediterranean area. The enhancements will further enable them to meet customers' requirements for schedule reliability and fast transit times.

As of August 2007, Maersk will introduce calls at Port Said (Egypt) on MECL 1 (eastbound) and MECL 2 (westbound) services. The terminal in Port Said is operated by APM Terminals and especially developed as a transshipment center.

Features include:

  • Improved schedule reliability and faster transshipment services in selected corridors such as Haifa to Savannah in just 14 days
  • Reliable and efficient connections via Port Said (Egypt) to Izmir, Haifa, and other East Mediterranean ports via Maersk Line's own feeder network thus minimizing any impact of port congestion
    Weekly fixed-day departures
  • Unrivalled access to key markets in the East Mediterranean area
  • Improved transit times to/from North America and fastest transit times in the industry to/from the developing South Atlantic market via Savannah (Georgia)
  • Global connectivity via seamless access to Maersk Line's worldwide network

The first MECL 1 (eastbound) departure from the US East Coast to Port Said will be the Maersk Missouri, voyage 0713, departing Newark on August 28 and

Charleston on September 1, 2007.

The first MECL 2 (westbound) departure from Port Said (Egypt) to North America will be the Maersk Daesan, voyage 0710, on August 2, 2007.

As a consequence of the above optimization efforts, they will discontinue our East Med service and cargo moving between the East Mediterranean and North America will be carried on our reliable MECL services. Consequently, they will adjust capacity in line with the expected development on the Mediterranean to North America trade. Maersk expects to phase out the East Med service during the fourth quarter of 2007.