Italia Marittima SpA (ITS) and Zim will launch a new weekly transatlantic service early August 2006. Designated the North Europe – US East Coast (NEC) service, it will link the North European ports of Antwerp, Hamburg and Liverpool with New York, Norfolk and Savannah.
The new service will deploy
four ships, each with a loading capacity of approximately 1,800 TEU. ITS will provide two ships, while Zim will contribute the other two ships. The first westbound voyage ix expected to depart Antwerp early August and will commence a port rotation of:
Antwerp – Hamburg – Liverpool – New York – Norfolk – Savannah.
According to ITS, the NEC service will complement its slot allocation on the NUE service, an Evergreen-operated pendulum service linking North Europe, North America and Asia via the Panama Canal. While the NUE service covers Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Thamesport, Rotterdam and Le Havre in Europe and New York, Norfolk and Charleston in the US, the NEC service offers German and Benelux ports (Hamburg and Antwerp) as well as Liverpool, a UK port with a long tradition of serving the North Atlantic trade and a strong catchment area in Northern England and the Midlands.
In the US, shippers will now have twice weekly calls in New York and Norfolk and the option of Savannah as well as Charleston in the South Atlantic.