The m.v. "TMM Chiapas", departing Houston on September 19, will launch the Gulf-Andes service which operates once every ten days.

The service provides shippers with two main links, both northbound and southbound:

- Between US Gulf/Florida and West Coast South America

- Between Central America and the US Gulf/Florida

In Central America, shippers in Honduras and Costa Rica, are directly linked with the West Coast of South America. Customers in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua are linked into the service through intermodal connections.

The service features direct calls to Cartagena with connectivity to La Guaira and Puerto Cabello in Venezuela.

Juan Manuel Gonzalez, Senior Vice President, says: "We see this Gulf-Andes service as a natural addition to the portfolio of services we already offer throughout the Americas.

"We are sure that business will grow very rapidly, both northbound and southbound. I know that shippers in Valparaiso, Guayaquil, Puerto Limón and Puerto Cortes particularly, will appreciate the extra capacity for temperature-controlled cargo."

"We can now also offer shippers in the US Gulf direct connections to the growing markets of Central America and the West Coast of South America. It's just four days from Miami to Puerto Limon (Costa Rica) and 21 days from Miami to Valparaiso."

The full port rotation is: Houston, New Orleans, Miami, Puerto Cortes, Puerto Limón, El Tablazo, Cartagena, Guayaquil, Callao, Valparaiso, Lirquen*, Ilo*, Callao, Guayaquil, Cartagena, Barranquilla*, Puerto Limon, Puerto Cortes, Houston.

*Every two weeks