Maersk abandons Algeciras in favor of Tanger Med for its MECL service
The Danish multinational shipping company, Maersk, the world’s second-largest container shipping line after the Italian-Swiss MSC, has announced changes to its route between India and North America.
To improve services from India to North America, the MECL service will add a stop in Mundra, India, while simultaneously removing its westbound call at Algeciras.
As a result, transit times from India, Pakistan, and the Middle East to the U.S. East Coast will improve by an average of 5 days, reducing the previous 46-day transit time by approximately 10%.
A.P. Møller-Maersk
The new MECL rotation will be as follows: Jebel Ali → Mundra → Pipavav → Nhava Sheva → Salalah → Newark → Charleston → Savannah → Houston → Norfolk → Newark → Tanger → Salalah.
The first voyage under the new rotation will be carried out by the Maersk Atlanta 509W, with an ETA in Mundra on February 24, 2025.
Some sources suggest that this change is influenced by cost savings associated with avoiding the payment of the EU’s new emissions tax. The Emissions Trading System (ETS), which came into effect on December 1, 2024, increases the costs for vessels on this route by approximately €150,000 per ship, savings that can be achieved by stopping at non-European ports instead.
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