A.P. Moller Maersk to launch new MENA shipping service: A.P. Moller Maersk is launching in June a new shipping service, Al Maha, that will serve key ports in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Egypt, and Morocco, according to a statement. The new route streamlines its older ME3 and ME4 services — which separately included routes to each of these countries — and serves all customers on those trade routes through a single service.

The details: The service consists of a fleet of seven vessels, each with a weekly capacity of 8.5k TEUs. Its rotation begins from Port Tangier and travels to Port Said, Jeddah, Salalah, Jebel Ali, Doha, Dammam, Jubail, Jebel Ali, and Duqm, before returning to Port Said and Port Tangiers. It will also offer further connections to European, Middle Eastern, and Far Eastern markets, particularly to service Saudi petrochemical exporters, the statement said.

What they said: “Having carefully studied our customers’ requirements arising out of the current market dynamics, we have designed the Al Maha service that will help our customers in driving value out of their supply chains,” head of Regional Ocean Management for Maersk Indian Subcontinent, Middle East and Africa Bhavan Vempati said.

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