THE WEEKLY PAD/NASP service between Australia, New Zealand, East Coast North America and Europe will be truncated for 18 weeks following the conclusion of the underpinning NZ kiwifruit export season.
Effective from V6539/RTWOWON29 of Marfret’s Marius, departing Melbourne today [20 October] service vessels will terminate the northbound/eastbound leg in Philadelphia, excising the North Atlantic crossing to Europe and return until early next year.
Vessels will thus turn in Philadelphia to begin the southbound/westbound voyage, which returns through Central America and the South Pacific to ANZ shipments to-from Europe will continue during this period, however, via weekly transhipment over Cartagena using the Eurosal and PCRF.XL services.
Four ships will be temporarily withdrawn, with the CMA CGM-chartered 2,339 TEU Mieke Schulte last week loading empties in Melbourne for Shekou, where it is listed to join ANL’s peak-season ACX service for at least two Australian round voyages.
Sister Magdalena Schulte is due to be withdrawn in Melbourne 14 November. Observers told DCN the move made “considerable sense” as it enabled PAD/NASP to continue operating at weekly frequency, compared with the reversion to fortnightly sailings of some years ago, while also avoiding the worst of North Atlantic winter weather, which has caused major each-way schedule disruption over the last couple of years.
Key pressure points in the PAD/NASP export schedule are kiwifruit load dates in Tauranga, and discharge at Zeebrugge for the European market. Once the new season kiwifruit crops are coming on PAD/NASP will revert to the full port roster from Rotterdam in early February 2027.
It is understood negotiations between kiwifruit marketer Zespri and CMA CGM — and potentially rival carriers — are underway now.