Hapag-Lloyd is expanding its liner network in Latin America with a service linking the east coast of South America with Mexico and the US coast on the Gulf of Mexico. The first departure is scheduled for late August 2002.

"Our entry into the market between Europe and the east coast of South America last year was very well received by shippers. The new north-south service now represents an excellent supplement to our existing liner network in Latin America," emphasized Rudy Mack, president of Hapag-Lloyd (America). He added that this applies for services to the west coast of South America and from Asia, which are routed via the Hapag-Lloyd hub in Kingston (Jamaica), and for the expanding trade within Latin America and the Caribbean.

The new fortnightly service, which is being run in cooperation with CMA-CGM will call at the following ports: New Orleans, Houston, Altamira, Veracruz, Kingston, Puerto Cabello, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Sao Francisco, Santos, Fortaleza, Port of Spain, Puerto Cabello, Kingston and New Orleans. The service shall start end of August and is subject to regulatory approval. Three vessels will be deployed. All units have sufficient capacity for refrigerated containers.

Mack concluded: "With this service expansion, we are meeting the requirements of our customers in North and South America for a direct and reliable north-south link serving all important ports in the region and offering attractive transit times. We will also be further optimizing our container circulation, i.e. reducing empty runs. All in all, we are very confident that the new service will be well received by shippers."