CMA CGM inaugurates new direct link between Europe, Mediterranean and Australia

CMA CGM is pleased to announce the launch, end of November 2008, of a new rationalized version of its NEMO service, which becomes NEW NEMO (North Europe, Mediterranean, Oceania).

Operated in partnership with Hapag Lloyd (50/50), NEW NEMO will now serve Australia directly from Europe and the Mediterranean, offering the fastest and only direct and dedicated link from Europe to Australia via Suez.

NEW NEMO will deploy 12 modern 2800 TEU capacity vessels, of which 6 CMA CGM vessels, each with significant reefer carrying capacity.

The 84-day round trip voyage will cover : Tilbury / Hamburg / Rotterdam / Le Havre / La Spezia / Damietta / Fremantle / Melbourne SB / Sydney / Brisbane / Melbourne NB / Adelaide / Singapore / Port Kelang / Chennai / Colombo / Damietta / Malta / La Spezia and back to Tilbury.

“This new design of the NEMO service allows us to rationalize our offer between Europe and Australia. It guarantees CMA CGM customers highly competitive transit times while strengthening our regional coverage on this expanding market, with calls in the 5 major Australian ports of Fremantle, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide”, explains Jean-François Guittet, Senior Vice President Africa Oceania and Indian Ocean Lines.

Northbound, NEW NEMO will serve South East Asia (Port Kelang, Singapore), the Indian Sub Continent (Colombo, Chennai), and return to the Mediterranean with Damietta and Malta kept as traditional CMA CGM hubs for the Levant and North and West Africa markets.

New Zealand will continue to be served directly by the CMA CGM PAD service (Panama direct), together with relay options using the CMA CGM Group network in the ANZ zone.

The first vessel to be deployed on the NEW NEMO will be the CMA CGM Galilée end of November from North Europe.

About CMA CGM - Led by its founder Jacques R. Saadé, CMA CGM is currently the world’s third largest container shipping Group. Operating a fleet of 400 vessels, including 100 company-owned, the Group serves 400 ports around the world. In 2007, it carried more than seven million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). With a presence on all continents and in 150 countries through its network of 650 agencies, the Group employs 16,000 people worldwide, including 4,200 in France. | www.cma-cgm.com