New Xiamen-Europe maritime express lane opens

The containers are loaded onto the CMA CGM TOSCA at the Xiamen Ocean Gate Container Terminal. [Photo/Xiamen Daily]

The loading of containers onto the CMA CGM TOSCA at the Xiamen Ocean Gate Container Terminal marked the launch of the CMA CGM "Ocean Rise Express" service to Europe at Xiamen Port on April 9.

The service operations on a port rotation of Kobe–Nagoya–Yokohama–Xiamen–Yantian–Rotterdam–Hamburg–Southampton–Nansha–Kobe, enabling seamless direct connectivity between major ports in South China, Japan and Europe.

The service operates on a weekly schedule, deploying a total of 14 container vessels with capacities ranging from 7,000 to 10,000 TEUs, including one 8,000 TEU LNG-powered ship.

Cargo from Xiamen reaches Rotterdam in just 34 days, Hamburg in 37 days, and Southampton in 40 days. This is two–three days faster to Rotterdam and Southampton, and four–five days faster to Hamburg compared with traditional routes. If the service switches to the Suez Canal in the future, transit times could be cut by another week.

With the addition of the "Ocean Rise Express" service, the Xiamen Ocean Gate Container Terminal now offers three fixed weekly voyages to Europe. This provides more comprehensive coverage and more frequent calls at major European ports, further expanding capacity on the Xiamen–Europe route. It also creates a fast, reliable, direct, two-way logistics corridor for enterprises in the hinterland.