Senator sees strength in Med-Canada
GERMAN carrier Senator Lines is beefing up its Mediterranean/Canada service with the phasing-in of a faster and larger vessel in May. It will replace the 2,017teu Canada Senator (top speed of 18.5kt) with the 2,130teu, 20kt Montreal Senator, chartered for a two-year period. The move shows that the Mediterranean/Canada trade has not been infected by the weakness in the Europe-US trade where freight rates are under massive pressure, prompting carriers to shut down services. CMA CGM and China Shipping have decided to abandon their joint Liberty Service with an average weekly capacity of 2,500teu next month, while Zim and Evergreen are closing their Europe-USEC NEX service. With the introduction of the Montreal Senator on the Med-Canada run, “we are a lot more flexible in our transit times and berthing windows,” said Mark Ehlers, director of operational Management at Senator Lines. Its two-sling service is run in co-operation with Hapag-Lloyd, which provides six out of the eight ships. The more stable conditions in this trade vis-a-vis the Europe-US North Atlantic trade are attributed to a tighter supply of tonnage and the relative robustness of the Canadian economy. Certain luxury goods exports to Canada may be a little subdued, but the market is generally in good health, a freight forwarder told Fairplay.