APL, the global container transportation company announced it will start offering a new service with fixed weekly sailings between the United States and the East Coast of South America as from April 28. Not additional tonnage will be added into the trade as the service will be performed on board Maersk Line - Safmarine vessels presently in the trade which do not offer direct calls at Buenos Aires Port, being cargo for this last managed with transhipment at Montevideo.

The service, named Samba (SAM), will begin southbound from the Port of Newark. NJ, April 28. It will call at Newark, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Savannah, Miami, Santos (southbound), Montevideo, Rio Grande, Itajai, Santos (northbound) and Newark. This service complements APL's existing Tango and ABX services from the U.S. East Coast to the East Coast of South America.

APL's John Bowe, President the Americas, said the decision to add a third string to the East Coast South America service is driven by the region's growth potential and customer demand. "The Samba demonstrates our confidence in the South America region and will provide our customers with significantly enhanced capabilities, frequency and flexibility," he said.

APL is a global container transportation company offering more than 60 weekly services and nearly 300 calls at more than 90 ports in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. It combines world-class intermodal operations with leading edge IT and e-commerce. APL is a unit of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), a global logistics and transportation company.