First container liner service between Hamburg and the Black Sea

The French shipping company CMA CGM is expanding its range of liner services from Hamburg and including Black Sea ports in its schedule for the first time.

Today, the CMA CGM LAVENDER sails on the extended FEMEX 1 Northern Europe-Mediterranean full container service from HHLA Container Terminal Burchardkai in Hamburg. Passing through the Bosphorus, for the first time she will also be calling at the Black Sea ports of Samsun (Turkey), Novorossiysk (Russia) and Constanta (Rumania). This makes FEMEX 1 the only container liner service between Northern Europe and the Black Sea.

Behind the extension of the liner service inaugurated in March 2013 is the increased demand for seaborne transport between Northern Europe and the Black Sea region. Imports and exports via Port of Hamburg for Turkey, focusing heavily on foreign trade, are steadily growing in importance. Based on a current assessment of different countries, Port of Hamburg Marketing (HHM) is reckoning with 38 percent growth in seaborne container traffic between Hamburg and ports in Turkey, corresponding to around 75,000 TEU (20-ft standard containers). The addition of the Northern Turkish port of Samsun will improve the link between Turkey and Hamburg. The voyage from Hamburg to Samsun takes 19 days, with 22 days needed for the return trip. A total of seven liner services are currently operating between the Port of Hamburg and Turkey, including two multi-purpose/general cargo services. Bulk cargo transport is provided on tramp services when required.

A total of six vessels with slot capacities of around 2,800 TEU are being deployed on FEMEX 1. A newcomer here is the CAMELLIA, a reinforcement expanding rotation to enable a weekly sailing frequency ex-Hamburg to be maintained. The service links these 19 ports: Hamburg, Antwerp, Southampton, Tangier, Marsaxlokk, Thessaloniki, Gebze, Istanbul-Ambarli (Avcilar), Istanbul-Haydarpasa, Samsun, Novorossisk, Constanta, Istanbul-Ambarli, Gebze, Gemlik, Aliaga, Marsaxlokk, Tangier and Casablanca, returning directly to Hamburg. The round voyage lasts 42 days.

Built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Singapore in 2006, CMA CGM LAVENDER is 222 metres long and 30 metres wide, with a slot capacity of 2,800 TEU. Fully laden, her draft reaches up to 12 metres.